THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 OP CALIF. LlBKAItf, LOS
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 A Tale of the Great Revolt 
 
 BY 
 
 JOSEPH W. SHARTS 
 
 Author of " The Vintage," "Ezra Caine," 
 " The Black Sheep,' ' " The Ro- 
 mance of a Rogue " 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 DUFFIELD & COMPANY 
 1913
 
 COPYRIGHT. 1918 
 BY DUFFIELD & COMPANY
 
 TO 
 WILLIAM AND CLARA HILBERT 
 
 WHO. AT THE TIME OF THE GREAT DAYTON FLOOD. 
 
 ALTHOUGH I WAS NO STRANGER. TOOK ME IN, 
 
 THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY 
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 2132GS9
 
 CONTENTS 
 PART I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PBINCE HYRCANUS 1 
 
 PART II 
 BETHANY 129 
 
 PART III 
 
 THE PASSOVER . 201
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 A Tale of the Great Revolt 
 
 PART ONE 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 
 
 ANNAS, the chief priest, came forth from his 
 great stone house in the Upper City of Jeru- 
 salem, and walked unattended through the mar- 
 ket-place. 
 
 It was the hour of sunset. Above the city walls at 
 the Joppa Gate the west had reddened like a bride to 
 receive the sun. Cool breezes blew down from the 
 grey-green Mount of Olives. On the narrow streets 
 and open market-place buyers, sellers, and beggars 
 swarmed and chattered among the stalls and striped 
 awnings of the bazaars in a riot of brilliant colours and 
 excited gestures. 
 
 Jerusalem, the crossing-place of nations, opened her 
 gates to innumerable caravans of rich cargoes from 
 Asia and Africa. All peoples and tongues met and 
 mingled on her thoroughfares. The Greek's snowy 
 tunic, the graceful scarf and broidery of the Arab, 
 the bright cloak of the sea-faring Phoenician, and the
 
 more sombre garb of Egypt set off the prevailing cos- 
 tume of the Jew. 
 
 Water-carriers clinked their little brass discs. 
 Wine-sellers cried incessantly in shrill monotones. 
 Porters trotted busily to and fro under burdens with 
 their coarse brown robes girded up around their mus- 
 cular loins. 
 
 At this hour many hundreds of sunburnt peasants 
 who had come in to market from the neighbouring vil- 
 lages of Bethlehem, Mispeh, and Bethany, were going 
 home. Their troops of unladened asses braying joy- 
 fully clattered away through white dust-clouds. A 
 line of camels with empty grain-sacks spread across 
 their humps was filing out through the Gennath Gate, 
 each grotesque head tied to its predecessor's tail. 
 
 Everywhere beggars howled and showed their sores. 
 
 Annas moved through the clamour, serene and stately 
 under a shower of respectful salutations. His dignity 
 was adorned by that perfect flower of courtesy char- 
 acteristic of the high-class. Jew. He spared neither 
 smiles nor gracious bows. 
 
 The great leader of the Pharisees the real High- 
 priest still in power and popular esteem, although for 
 reasons of state he had relinquished the title was a 
 man of majestic stature. His frame was naturally 
 gaunt. It had become rounded a little at the abdomen 
 from good living, but without diminishing the com- 
 manding effect of his general appearance. His outer 
 robe was of dark rich Tyrian cloth, his inner garment 
 of fine linen freshly laundered, sunbleached, and spot- 
 less.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 8 
 
 A flowing white beard gave to his face a tone im- 
 pressively venerable; but the high shapely nose and 
 the eyes dark, luminous, and sparkling, revealed un- 
 diminished fires of energy. On his forehead hung 
 black cylinders of calfskin phylacteries whose 
 breadth betokened his austere piety and observance 
 of religious duties. 
 
 As he traversed the market-place he pocketed his 
 hands in his long linen sleeves to protect them from 
 dust and sunburn. When he saluted some one or gave 
 alms, it might be seen they were white, with delicate 
 blue veins, the fingers long, slender, and flexible. On 
 his right forefinger a ruby set in a circlet of gold 
 glowed like a drop of blood. 
 
 " Rabbi ! Rabboni ! Master ! " assailed his ears 
 from all sides. 
 
 The horde of frantic beggars volleyed frantic bless- 
 ings and appeals. 
 
 " Lord ! Lord ! in thy prosperity remember us ! " 
 
 He bestowed alms on the more importunate liberally 
 but not lavishly. Wealth had not made him careless 
 of money. Annas was indeed the embodiment of the 
 ruling spirit of Jerusalem the Pharisee faction, the 
 party of the prosperous traders, merchants, and land- 
 lords. 
 
 In the open square of the Fruit Market a dusty 
 greyish camel with shaggy tufts of sand-yellow hair 
 knelt on the stone pave, groaning and flapping its 
 loose lips at flies. On its hump hung a pair of wooden 
 panniers, almost empty, containing grapes. 
 
 As Annas passed by in the crowd, a bunch of these
 
 4 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 grapes in a swarthy hand was thrust suddenly under 
 his nose. 
 
 " Grapes ! Purple grapes ! " shouted a stentorian 
 voice. " Grapes, O Abba ! Grapes of Esdraelon ! 
 Like unto the curtain of Solomon are they! The 
 colour of kings' robes! On the slopes of Tabor they 
 laughed saying, We are not of the poor south country ! 
 we are of Galilee ! We are not for the bellies of 
 mean men but for the lips of the anointed even 
 great Annas ! " 
 
 The priest frowned at this loquacious impudence, 
 then started, and flung a keen look at the shouter. 
 
 " The colour of kings' robes, sayest thou ? I will 
 buy thy wares, O fountain of words." He tossed the 
 man a silver denarius, scarcely glancing at the grapes, 
 which indeed were half withered. " Nadab," said he 
 in a lower tone, " art thou returned at last ! Follow, 
 at a distance, that thou be not observed." 
 
 Their eyes encountered. Between them flew a swift 
 sharp meaning which both were at pains to hide from 
 by-standers. Annas strode on. 
 
 The seller of grapes, having humbled himself into 
 the dust a moment, sprang up, and began to beat and 
 lustily kick the kneeling camel. 
 
 " Rise, O wind-drinker ! Rise quickly, grumbler ! 
 Rejoice with me! Up, Esau! hairy one! Who 
 art thou to snore and grunt thus beneath the sun! 
 Hath not the Lord's anointed deigned to look upon 
 such an unclean thing as thou! Up and rejoice! Be- 
 hold our silver denarius ! O day of j oy ! O day of 
 fatness ! '*
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 5 
 
 He goaded the ungainly beast to its feet, seized the 
 check-rein which hung from its tinkling head-harness 
 of tarnished tin-pieces and leather strings, and bawling 
 for passageway led it through the crowd. 
 
 The man was of an undersized figure with a crooked 
 shoulder, his skin burnt black by sun and desert winds. 
 His raiment was a coarse burnoose of dirt-hued cloth, 
 belted by a leather girdle such as only the poorest 
 would wear. His lean strong legs were naked, his feet 
 shod with wooden sandals. 
 
 The small dusky face which peered out from under 
 a wild black mop of wiry hair was quick and cunning. 
 A pair of white eyeballs gleamed with an odd sort of 
 dancing madness. 
 
 By an indirect course around the square, to avoid 
 notice, this man, leading his camel, followed Annas, 
 but presently found his progress checked. 
 
 A silken palanquin came across the market-place, 
 borne high on the shoulders of eight Nubian slaves, its 
 purple curtains blowing and bellying on the breeze. 
 Servants ran before it with gilded wands and struck 
 briskly to clear a lane through the swarms of 
 people. 
 
 "Way!" they shouted. "Way for the Lady 
 Salome ! Way for the royal daughter of Herodias ! " 
 
 A score of dismounted Trachonitian spearsmen, 
 fierce warlike fellows in peaked iron caps, trooped be- 
 fore and behind the palanquin. 
 
 Inside it a woman lolled on downy cushions. All 
 eyes were drawn to her as to a candle lighted in a 
 dark house. One oval cheek leaned languidly on a
 
 6 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 jewel-bedecked hand. Her large scornful voluptuous 
 eyes turned on the staring cheering crowds as on a 
 thrice-repeated play. 
 
 That proud face was like a flower of the passion- 
 vine. Its beauty haunted and disquieted. In the lines 
 of the calm red mouth and smooth low brow under its 
 dusky aureole of hair seemed to lurk the slumberous 
 cruelty of a fed tiger. The indolent attitude of her 
 sleek white body, only partly veiled by a gauze of 
 Damascus lace, disclosed a grace rather feline than 
 human. She carelessly exposed her shining bare limbs, 
 adorned by golden anklets and jewels, upon her couch, 
 either from a superb disdain of the vulgar gaze or 
 shameless immodesty. 
 
 Annas had already passed from the market-place into 
 the narrow Street of the Coppersmiths, when the regal 
 palanquin appeared. But the grape-seller and his 
 dusty camel were among those thrust rudely back by 
 Salome's servants. 
 
 The rabble, especially the beggars, flung up their 
 caps those who had them clapped their hands at 
 the spectacle, and screamed praises and prayers. 
 
 Loudest of all soared the voice of the grape-seller. 
 
 Tugging at his camel's bridle he pushed in near to 
 the passing palanquin, kicking aside a cripple who 
 with shrieks for alms held up a wooden bowl. 
 
 "Hail, O flower of Jericho! Hail!" thundered the 
 grape-seller. " In the kings' paradise what rose is like 
 unto thee ! O lamp of the ivory palaces ! O moon 
 amongst the lords of men ! Kneel, Esau ! " he ex- 
 claimed, thumping the camel. " Kneel, fool ! Hide
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 7 
 
 thine ugly face in dust! It is no mean person it is 
 the royal Lady Salome who passes by ! Who art thou, 
 O wretched dirt-treader of Gilead, that thou darest to 
 gaze on such loveliness unabased ! " 
 
 This stentorian noise overrode the tumult of other 
 voices as the lion's roar subdues the cries of lesser 
 beasts. 
 
 It served to catch the languid eye of the daughter 
 of Herodias. Her scarlet lips parted in a quickened 
 look. 
 
 She motioned to the huge black eunuch who stalked 
 with drawn scimitar beside her couch. The negro 
 clapped a silver whistle to his thick lips and blew. 
 
 The bearers halted. 
 
 They must have halted at that moment anyhow; 
 for an authority loftier even than that of kings just 
 then claimed precedence. 
 
 A brazen trumpet pealed. The stones of the mar- 
 ket-place rang to the measured tramp of iron legion- 
 aries. A thicket of slanted spears moved by above the 
 gaudy mantles, scarfs, turbans, and craning heads of 
 the crowd. One caught the glint of tufted helmets, 
 and saw lifted in the van the gilt eagles and globes of 
 the conquerors of the world. It was the Roman guard 
 marching from the citadel of Antonia to relieve the 
 sentries posted on the many-towered walls. 
 
 The people surged back from the inflexible path of 
 the foreign soldiery. They lined the way, gazing on 
 the military pomp with a hate which vented itself in an 
 occasional hiss or muttered curse, not too loud. 
 
 Amid the stifling press and confusion, Salome beck-
 
 8 
 
 oned to the grape-seller, who squirmed to the side of 
 the palanquin. 
 
 " O fairest palm-tree in the garden of kings ! " said 
 he, bending low. " Thy servant draweth near, although 
 his eyes be dazzled." 
 
 Under his crooked shoulder he cast anxious squints 
 stealthily after Annas ; but the chief priest had already 
 gone beyond seeing. 
 
 " Art not thou that one called Nadab ? " asked the 
 Lady Salome in a guarded tone. 
 
 " Nadab, poorest of camel-drivers ! most faith- 
 ful of great Salome's servants ! Nadab, whose feet are 
 swifter and more tireless than the hart's to do her bid- 
 ding!" 
 
 " Hast thou gathered me, then, news of the robbers 
 of Gilead? " 
 
 " Thy servant cometh as a well of living waters. He 
 bringeth secrets precious as kings' ransoms every one 
 a lord over an hundred fenced cities ! When thou near- 
 est the least of my news, thou shalt laugh in thine heart 
 saying, ' This dog pleaseth me well ! give unto him 
 straightway five silver mince.' ' 
 
 An eager look, repressed with difficulty, quivered on 
 the smooth dark face of the royal lady. She leaned 
 forward and down, breathing more quickly. Her splen- 
 did eyes flashed. 
 
 " Concerning young Hyrcanus who would be king, 
 what hast thou ! " 
 
 But the information was not to be thus freely ob- 
 tained. 
 
 " Thy servant's tongue is stupefied with amazement
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 9 
 
 % 
 
 contemplating the gold wherewith thy munificence will 
 reward the bearer of such tidings as thy servant bring- 
 eth concerning the prince Hyrcanus." 
 
 Salome's eyebrows, whose natural darkness had been 
 further heightened by the pencil, drew ominously to- 
 gether. But she stripped from her finger a broad gold 
 ring and dropped it into the man's brown palm. 
 
 " To-night, Nadab," she murmured. " This signet 
 will open for thee the porter's gate. Come secretly, 
 after the second watch. If thou bring me indeed tidings 
 of Prince Hyrcanus worthy of reward, thou shalt not 
 depart unrejoicing." 
 
 The dense array of legionaries had tramped on to- 
 wards Zion hill, whose white palaces gleamed in the 
 sunset. The crowd, relieved of its pressure, was now 
 flowing in over the track. As Salome settled languidly 
 among her cushions, the eunuch again blew his silver 
 whistle. 
 
 The silken palanquin moved forward, dancing like a 
 bright flame above the tossing heads. 
 
 Nadab plucked at his camel's bridle and hurried after 
 Annas into the Street of the Coppersmiths. 
 
 " Stir thy bones, Esau ! " he muttered. " Old velvet- 
 footed tower of hair ! We move in great affairs, Esau, 
 even in kings* matters ! Wilt thou increase thy 
 speed, idler ! or shall I put pepper in thy tail ! "
 
 n 
 
 IN a large chamber lighted by candles and well fur- 
 nished for entertainment, were assembled a dozen 
 men, the most opulent and influential of the Phari- 
 sees of Jerusalem. For privacy in conference they 
 sought this quiet meeting-place and even eschewed the 
 housetop, the customary resort at the cool of the day. 
 
 A comely slave-woman glided amongst them with 
 downcast eyes, pouring wine from a silver urn which 
 she bore gracefully on her hip. 
 
 " Peace be unto you," said Annas at the doorway, 
 entering. 
 
 They set down their cups noisily, crying, 
 
 " And unto thee, Annas ! Unto thee, Abba ! " 
 
 They came forward to salute him. 
 
 He stretching out his beautiful white hand on which 
 the bloodlike ruby flamed, blessed them. 
 
 On all of them alike fell his pleasant smiling benedic- 
 tion. 
 
 Yet if a larger share was bestowed on one than 
 another, it went to a thin oddly elusive figure in sombre 
 garments that emerged but for a moment from the dark 
 corner behind the door. 
 
 It was near this elusive figure that Annas chose to 
 sit, putting himself a little in front of it; and in the 
 council which ensued, a bald emaciated head, ghastly 
 
 pale, projected now and then over the priest's shoulder, 
 
 10
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 11 
 
 to murmur in his ear or glance with furtive hollow eyes 
 about the room. 
 
 Caiaphas, the titular Highpriest and son-in-law of 
 Annas, suddenly focussed attention by a loud remark 
 which referred to the discussion interrupted by Annas's 
 coming. 
 
 " But I ! " he cried, holding his cup to be refilled. 
 " I would take hold of the ends of Galilee and shake 
 those innovators out of it as out of a cloth ! " 
 
 The Highpriest, who owed his title to family influ- 
 ences, was a man of some forty years, full-fleshed and 
 black-bearded. His florid skin, pouting red lips, and 
 frequent violent gestures revealed his passionate dis- 
 position. 
 
 His remark drew vociferous exclamations from all 
 sides : 
 
 " Seditious fellows ! Vain speakers ! Ambitious 
 underlings ! " 
 
 " The foolish and idle are led astray by them like 
 swine out of a fenced place with plentiful draff, to starve 
 in the desert." 
 
 " They would burn the granary to warm their hands ! '* 
 
 " By great promises to the ignorant and discontented 
 they hope to gain power for themselves." 
 
 " Shirkers ! Envying the fruits of the industry of 
 others ! " 
 
 " Let them be whipped back to their proper labours ! " 
 
 Calmer voices began to be heard : 
 
 " All this feeds the designs of young Hyrcanus. He 
 draws the discontented unto him with sweet words like 
 honey."
 
 12 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Nay, the prince hath small force since Herod 
 Antipas beat back his last incursion." 
 
 "Hast thou not heard! Barabbas joineth his band 
 unto Hyrcanus vowing to seat him on the throne of 
 his fathers." 
 
 " The robbers are bold only in their hill-fastnesses of 
 Gilead. . . ." 
 
 " Tithes, the burden of the Roman tax, the failure 
 of the barley crop, these are the seeds of the discon- 
 tent. The multitude is clamorous for change. They 
 cry for a new kingdom. Hyrcanus uses the general 
 ferment as yeast for his own bread. He setting forth 
 his ancient Asmonean rights claims the throne and prom- 
 ises marvellous reforms.'* 
 
 The last speaker had been Phinehas the Scribe, a 
 bald-browed man with a cool persuasive manner, a lead- 
 ing member of the Sanhedrim. 
 
 " Slothfulness ! " exclaimed Caiaphas clenching a 
 plump fist to smite his knee. " They wax querulous and 
 indolent from long peace, and mutter against those in 
 authority! They think to live sumptuously without 
 labour! Were the sharp Roman spears in Galilee, as 
 in Judea. . . ." 
 
 " I have word concerning young Hyrcanus who would 
 be king." 
 
 Annas's quiet words, directed chiefly to the emaciated 
 spectre in the corner, struck a sudden hush upon the 
 room. Then several eager voices: 
 
 " What of Hyrcanus ! " 
 
 *' Nadab the camel-driver, who hath before brought 
 me news for a price, waiteth without."
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 13 
 
 " Let us hear his tidings ! " 
 
 The misshapen camel-driver, in his coarse burnoose, 
 entered cringing, and prostrated himself before them. 
 His white eyeballs flickered through his tangled hair 
 as he darted sly glances from one proud countenance to 
 another. 
 
 " What is your servant that my lords should look on 
 such a dead dog as I am ! " he inquired in a doleful 
 tone. 
 
 " We would learn of the unrest in Galilee," said An- 
 nas. 
 
 " Nay, I would speak at my lord's bidding, but I 
 have swallowed the dust of my lord's sandals till my 
 throat is as the shore of the Dead Sea for dryness ! " 
 
 One or two laughed at the freedman's impudence. 
 Annas calmly motioned the slave-woman to fill a 
 cup. 
 
 " Now speak," said he with authority when Nadab 
 had drained the cup and wiped his lips on the back of 
 a sun-blackened hand. 
 
 " I have been as my lord's bucket, dipping into good 
 report and evil. Alas, the good is as a pinch of salt 
 in the fish-pools of Heshbon ! The multitude is full of 
 murmurs." 
 
 "What say they?" 
 
 " They say that he that earneth wages putteth them 
 into a bag with holes ; their labours conceive chaff, 
 the grain going unto others. They cry woe unto the 
 shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves and leave 
 their flocks unfed." 
 
 He was interrupted by exclamations of disgust and
 
 14 
 
 anger. Caiaphas dashed down his cup with a fierce 
 look. 
 
 " Blind leaders of the blind ! " he said violently. 
 
 Only the emaciated figure in the shadow behind the 
 door was silent. It leaned forward with an eager air 
 of listening. The action brought its skull-like head 
 and hollow eyes sharply into the yellow stream of candle- 
 light. 
 
 " Complain they more of the tithes, or of Cassar's 
 tax ? " asked Phinehas. 
 
 " Not alone of the tithes or the Roman tax, though 
 these be grievous. They say the usurers take away 
 their garments in cold weather ; it is vain to rise up 
 early and labour late, for the rich have hid a snare for 
 them. They repeat the saying of the prophet Enoch, 
 * Woe to you who build you palaces with the sweat of 
 others ! Each one of the stones, each one of the bricks 
 thereof is a sin ! ' They say ye have eaten up the vine- 
 yard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. Of An- 
 nas. . . ." 
 
 He pretended to hesitate. His abashed face hid the 
 malicious twinkle of his eyes. 
 
 " Nay, what say they of me? " inquired the Pharisee 
 leader. " Speak without fear." 
 
 " Of my lord whose goodness to the poor, and espe- 
 cially to Nadab, is as a cloud of dew in the heat of 
 harvest, of my lord those wicked ones say that he 
 leadeth counsellors away spoiled and maketh the judges 
 fools, that his gifts blind the eyes of the wise and 
 pervert the words of the righteous, and he hath delivered 
 us bound unto the Romans. Nay ! " he cried smiting
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 15 
 
 his breast in mock contrition. " Not thy servant utter- 
 eth these follies ! What am I ! A pitcher that poureth 
 foul water because my lord hath sunk it in a muddy 
 pool!" 
 
 The high brow of Annas grew mournful under its 
 broad phylacteries. He lifted his delicate hand in 
 pained protest. 
 
 " Say they this of me ! " he sighed. " Then is my 
 labour for the people as seed spilled upon tilled soil ; 
 the soil receiveth it knowing not the hand that blessed." 
 
 " Gratitude is not in them ! " exclaimed Caiaphas. 
 " Do they forget how we labour for them day and 
 night ! " 
 
 " Of Caiaphas," whined Nadab, " they say he doth 
 search Jerusalem with candles and is as a fed horse at 
 morning neighing after his neighbour's wife. . . ." 
 
 " Dog ! " thundered Caiaphas starting up, white with 
 wrath, while something like an awed smile kindled from 
 one knowing face to another. 
 
 The camel-driver grovelled on the floor, his stomach 
 quivering under him with silent laughter. 
 
 " Peace ! " said Annas to his angered son-in-law. 
 " The people utter these sayings not of themselves ; 
 they are as sheep to be led, and are all led astray." 
 
 " The people are asses ! " said Nadab from the floor. 
 " But of old did not Saul by seeking asses find a 
 crown ! " 
 
 " A crown, sayest thou? Then these evil tongues talk 
 of a new kingdom ! do they wag in the cause of young 
 Hyrcanus ? " 
 
 As Annas spoke, the deathlike head in the shadow
 
 16 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 leaned over his shoulder into the light. Bright cold 
 eyes that seemed to peer through the holes of a paper 
 mask fixed intently on the camel-driver's face. 
 
 Nadab saw, stared, trembled, and hesitated. 
 
 '* Speak they of a new kingdom ? " Annas repeated. 
 
 " Yea, of a new kingdom," murmured Nadab in a 
 sort of stupor. 
 
 " Doth Barabbas scatter money amongst them that 
 they may shout for young Hyrcanus ? " 
 
 " The great robber doth indeed scatter money, and 
 some few shout for Hyrcanus and cry death to the 
 Romans." 
 
 "And the others?" 
 
 " Thy servant is as dirt beneath thy sandals ! Listen 
 unto the truth! The multitude follow after that Naz- 
 arene dreamer who proclaimeth to the poor and the 
 captives his kingdom of God." 
 
 "The carpenter?" 
 
 " Scourge me with rods like a dusty rug if I lie ! " 
 
 " Did not Herod Antipas covenant with us a twelve- 
 month past," inquired Phinehas, glancing gravely about, 
 " to put that wordy fellow out of the way? How may 
 this be?" 
 
 ** He goeth not openly into the cities, where the 
 Tetrarch's soldiers are," said Nadab. " And Herod 
 seeking the Judean crown doth avoid a public clamour 
 now, such as John's death did stir up, lest it bring 
 upon him the displeasure of Tiberius, who would with- 
 hold the crown." 
 
 Here some one muttered that the carpenter's perni- 
 cious doctrines would also if unchecked bring down the
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 17 
 
 displeasure of Tiberius. Others counselled moderation. 
 But Caiaphas sprang up with a fierce outward gesture 
 of his clenched hands : 
 
 " Ye know nothing at all ! nor consider that it is 
 expedient for us that one man should die for the people, 
 and that the whole nation perish not ! " 
 
 Again Annas quelled the turmoil. 
 
 " I would that all those poor fishermen and vine- 
 dressers whose heads are filled with this carpenter's sedi- 
 tious teachings might return to honest labour of their 
 hands. But, my children, it is not such as they that 
 overthrow kingdoms. Here is another peril more im- 
 mediate. The robber Barabbas joineth with young 
 Hyrcanus to set up a new kingdom. They are both 
 strong men of war, bold and cunning. Much plunder 
 of caravans hath laid them up treasure. They gather 
 unto them hundreds of lawless men, greedy for spoils. 
 Nadab, what knowest thou? " 
 
 " Barabbas cometh in secret to Jerusalem," replied 
 the camel-driver. 
 
 A general outcry greeted this. 
 
 " It is currently reported in Perea," Nadab added, 
 " that the leaders of the Zealots plot with him to estab- 
 lish a new kingdom under Hyrcanus and drive out the 
 Romans." 
 
 All tongues were wagging. 
 
 Cried Caiaphas : " If that robber enter the gate, let 
 it be as a partridge into the snare ! " 
 
 " The Zealots will stir up the rabble in the streets to 
 protect him," another groaned. 
 
 " His defiance of Rome," said Phinehas dubiously,
 
 18 
 
 " hath so captured the hearts of the multitude, that they 
 would stone us." 
 
 " Send then a secret messenger unto Pontius Pilate," 
 exclaimed Caiaphas. 
 
 But Annas sternly rebuked his son-in-law. 
 
 " Wouldst thou publish our counsel from the house- 
 top ! " He beckoned Nadab and the slave-woman to be 
 gone. " Depart in peace," said he. 
 
 They slunk to the door. The woman went out. 
 
 Nadab paused to make a servile reverence before 
 crossing the threshold. 
 
 At that moment a fleshless hand in a dark sleeve 
 stretched across the light. The pale skull-like head pro- 
 truded from the shadow. 
 
 " Stay," requested a colourless voice. 
 
 Nadab sank upon his knees ; and in that room abrupt 
 silence followed, as though a god had spoken. 
 
 The hand, head, and voice were those of John of 
 Petra, styled " the Leper," who held the commerce of 
 the East as in a vise. Ships and caravans of Tyre and 
 Sidon, of Damascus and the Nile, bore his merchandise 
 to the uttermost parts of the earth. The oil of ten 
 thousand gardens was his, the wine of innumerable 
 vineyards, the stone of countless quarries. Few were 
 ever admitted to look upon his disease-stricken face; 
 but his large gifts to the poor were industriously noised 
 abroad. 
 
 " The carpenter's new kingdom," he whistled softly 
 through defective teeth, " what believe the multi- 
 tude?"
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 19 
 
 "I I know not my lord's meaning," stammered 
 Nadab, confused. 
 
 " What say the common people of it ? " 
 
 " Some say one thing, some another. But all believe, 
 from what the carpenter teacheth, that he hath a design 
 to set up the new kingdom at the next Passover, and the 
 old order will be changed." 
 
 The leper leaned a little nearer. 
 
 " Thou Nadab discernest more than thou showest," 
 he hissed eagerly. " Tell me, what findest thou in 
 his teaching? Will this new kingdom abolish rent and 
 usury and the taking of profit ? " 
 
 Under Nadab's mean exterior dwelt a mind bold and 
 shrewd for that day and generation. But now he 
 squirmed on the floor, somehow terrified by that ques- 
 tion, although he did not wholly comprehend. 
 
 " Wiser than Daniel ! " he cried desperately at last. 
 " I know not ! A grasshopper am I in thy sight ! The 
 carpenter he prayeth, ' Thy kingdom come ... on 
 earth. . . . Forgive us our debts as we forgive our 
 debtors.' He saith the lowly, poor, enslaved, oppressed 
 shall inherit the earth. He saith that having first estab- 
 lished the new kingdom, then shall food, drink, and 
 clothing be added unto them freely. . . . But of rent, 
 usury, profit nay, I know not if he have ever spoke 
 those words ! " 
 
 Dead silence reigned. 
 
 The clawlike fingers tapped slowly the paper-white 
 cheek. 
 
 " This Nazarene," muttered John of Petra, lost in
 
 20 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 thought, " holdeth In his hands the lamp. . . . But his 
 light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehend- 
 eth it not. He is strong strong but I too . . ." 
 
 He made a vague gesture of dismissal. His ghastly 
 brooding face sank back into the submerging shadow.
 
 Ill 
 
 IT was past the wonted hour for shutting the city- 
 gates. But in Elul, the busy harvest moon, pome- 
 granates ripened, maize sought the granaries, and 
 vintage shouting began. So the Gate of the Fountain, 
 at Jerusalem, still stood open by the Governor's order 
 to enable the belated labouring population to draw water 
 from the Pool of Siloam ; and the Roman soldiers at the 
 gate, leaning idly on their spears, accosted with rude 
 jests the Jewish women who hurried by. 
 
 The Pool or cistern had been built in the valley of 
 the Cedron, called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, near a 
 fallen tower, under the southeastern wall of the city. 
 Here clustered many women, girls, and boys on the 
 muddy stone steps, with pitchers and jars. The quiet 
 evening air carried far a tintinnabulous medley of chat- 
 ting voices, high feminine laughter, songs, and the plash 
 of water. 
 
 Night was fast deepening along the low ground. A 
 young man came out of the country and sat on the grey 
 roots of a tamarind tree just below the pool. The eyes 
 of the water-bearers, especially of the young women, 
 fixed upon him with curiosity, as he loosed his dusty 
 sandals and dipped his feet into the shallow waste cur- 
 rent. 
 
 He was of a tall lithe figure, and wore a coarse red 
 
 91
 
 22 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 homespun cloak powdered with the dust of much travel 
 on the roads. His garb declared him a common la- 
 bourer of Galilee; but his supple hands and slender 
 arched feet belied it. 
 
 His dark face was still too young for more than the 
 slight beginnings of a beard. A look of pride rested 
 on it, calmly fierce like a sheathed sword. 
 
 Annoyed at length by the curiosity of those humble 
 folk who leaned on the wall, he rolled his full flashing 
 black eye scornfully towards them. They kept a re- 
 spectful distance, chattering and staring, like uneasy 
 chickens when a bird of unknown species drops quietly 
 from the upper regions into the hen-yard. 
 
 Instinct warned them that this intruder was of a 
 predatory kind. 
 
 The twilight thickened. A grey mist began to pre- 
 vail along the lower reaches of the deep valley. By ones 
 and twos the water-bearers departed, shouldering their 
 vessels in the Judean manner. They climbed up the slope 
 to the city-gate in the wall, which loomed high and 
 black against the tender pink flush of the west. 
 
 Only the young wayfarer remained, seated under the 
 tamarind. He seemed to await some one; occasionally 
 he cast a keen glance around. 
 
 Last of all came a slender maiden in a coarse blue 
 gown bordered with red, bearing a tall earthenware 
 pitcher to be filled. A song on her lips, she tripped 
 lightly downward, trying unskilfully to balance the 
 pitcher on her head after the fashion of Galilean women. 
 Whenever it tipped off into her upstretched hands, she 
 laughed out a ripple of care-free gaiety.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 23 
 
 She sang with a clear warbling voice a popular re- 
 frain of the market-place : 
 
 "We have piped unto you (O stupid pitcher!) 
 
 And ye have not danced; 
 We have mourn . . . 
 
 Pitcher! I verily believe thou art tipsy with wine." 
 
 At the top of the splashed steps she paused prudently 
 to tuck her skirts about her slim bare white ankles be- 
 fore descending to the pool. Just then her eye fell on 
 the youth under the tamarind tree. 
 
 Her garment dropped. The song perished sud- 
 denly. A moment she stood, poised on one small foot, 
 her attitude startled, uncertain. 
 
 Then she went down and sank her vessel deep in the 
 bubbling water. 
 
 Bringing up the full pitcher with effort, she stopped 
 a second time on the steps, glanced uncertainly at the 
 red-cloaked figure below her in the dusk, and resumed 
 her song: 
 
 "We have piped unto you, 
 
 And ye have not danced; 
 We have mourned unto you, 
 And ye have not wept." 
 
 The notes, fresh and sweet like a lark's, caused the 
 young man to turn his head. Again she sang, lifting 
 her voice. Her manner was unmistakable. He read in 
 it an invitation. He rose lazily to his feet. 
 
 They two were now alone. 
 
 She came towards him. Her eyes, large and dark, 
 smiled shyly at him, a little sidelong; and he noting
 
 4 
 
 her sweet beauty and accustomed to easy conquests of 
 the sort, said, 
 
 " Let me, I pray thee, my little sister, drink a sup 
 of water from thy pitcher." 
 
 " Drink, my brother," she answered, laughing softly 
 with a kind of expectation, and let the long-necked 
 pitcher clumsily down on her palm like one unskilled. 
 
 As he stooped to drink, his hands purposely found 
 hers on the handles. Their eyes met across the vessel's 
 rim. Then he in turn laughed, exulting. 
 
 The maiden although somewhat small of stature was 
 of a rare and delicate loveliness. At his clasp the clear 
 olive pallor of her cheek warmed to wine-colour. Her 
 breasts, just rounded into womanhood, lifted and fell, 
 from excitement or the effort of holding the heavy 
 pitcher. Swift breaths parted her mouth and little 
 teeth of pearl gleamed between the rose-lips. It was a 
 face like an April sunbeam, sparkling, but haunted by 
 a faint and wistful under-touch of sadness. 
 
 He took her pitcher from her, walked a pace or two 
 in his bare feet, and set it on the sustaining wall of 
 the pool. From the leather wallet at his hip he drew 
 carelessly a gold coin which he pressed into her palm. 
 
 She had expected something. Her manner had 
 showed that. But when she found this piece of money 
 in her palm, confusion covered her face. She looked 
 first at it, then at him, and her dark pupils enlarged. 
 
 " A gold stater! " she gasped. " Why gavest thou 
 me this! Bringest thou naught else from Caper- 
 naum ! " 
 
 " Naught else but love, little sister ! " he laughed, toss-
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 25 
 
 ing back the glossy locks that covered his broad temples, 
 confident in his high bold comeliness. 
 
 She stooped. 
 
 Her slender forefinger traced in the wet earth a rude 
 outline of a fish; and then straightening up, wiping the 
 finger on the hem of her garment, she anxiously regarded 
 him. 
 
 " Have I found favour in my lord's sight? " 
 
 This too he took to be some sport of coquetry; for 
 many fair women had spread for him the net of desire. 
 He caught her slim wrists. 
 
 " Fair art thou, little sister ! Fairest among all the 
 daughters of Jerusalem! I see that as on the palm of 
 my right hand! The others though I have seen 
 them not yet are scarce fit to bind thy shoe-latchets ! 
 Thou hast fawn's eyes! let me look! Nay, strive 
 not. In my grasp thou art a butterfly one with 
 wings of gold and purple, such as thou seest in spring- 
 time adrift over the hills of Gilead ! " 
 
 Terribly frightened, she strained away from his joy- 
 ous face. 
 
 " Nay ! thou mistakest ! " she panted. " It was 
 but a message I was sent for a message from Gali- 
 lee. . . . Nay, my lord ! " 
 
 " Wherefore sangest thou then unto me, firing my 
 blood with love ! " He pulled her up irresistibly against 
 his breast. " Sweet was the song, sweeter the singer ! 
 I am of those who take what they desire." 
 
 She fought him, showing a wondrous spirit for so 
 young and slight a maid. 
 
 " If thou offer me violence, thou shalt be slain ! " she
 
 26 
 
 threatened with impotent anger. " My father hath 
 power ! " 
 
 He only laughed the more. 
 
 " A lily among thorns ! crucify me if thou be not ! 
 Thy lips are as new wine of En-gedi, warm and sweet." 
 Once, twice, and thrice he pressed his mouth upon hers, 
 mocking merrily her desperate efforts to bite him. 
 
 As she struggled in his arms, they swayed against 
 the pitcher, which fell, shattering into shards. The 
 spilled water splashed their feet and lower garments. 
 
 It was night down there in the valley, although the 
 west still burned with sunset flame above the black out- 
 line of the towered gate. The soldiers hearing her cries 
 looked idly over the wall. They saw dimly a peasant 
 maid resisting a man, but took no concern over the in- 
 cident; it was not a chivalrous age, and the working- 
 classes were despised. 
 
 At last she changed from fury to tears. 
 
 " Thou wrongest me ! " she wept. " I am not of those 
 that go about the streets ! " 
 
 He held her off at arm's length and lifted over against 
 her a haughty heroic head such as might have been 
 Herod's in his fiery dreaming daring youth. 
 
 " Neither do I herd goats ! " he declared boastfully. 
 " Behold ! Am I some crookbacked potter of Caper- 
 naum, even the one thou didst seek but now ? some 
 hook-handed drawer of nets ? " A superb arrogance 
 sounded in his words. " Ah, thou art fair, my love ! 
 Thy voice is unto me as the call of the quail in Sivan 
 unto its mate! Thou shalt leave thy father's house! 
 Thou shalt go with me, my love, my little sister with
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 27 
 
 the bright dove's eyes ! I will bear thee off to the moun- 
 tains of Gilead to the lions' dens to the hills of 
 the leopards. Weep not, little sister. Ten score vali- 
 ant men lie about my tent by night, every man hath 
 his sword on his thigh. They shall spoil an hundred 
 caravans of John the Leper to adorn thee ! Come ! " 
 
 Because she stood so quiet now, weeping plentifully, 
 he thought her altogether subdued. He released her a 
 moment and turned to put on his sandals. 
 
 But she sprang instantly away. 
 
 " Simon ! " she cried. " Barjona ! Save ! " 
 
 She fled into the shadows, calling with a wild shrill 
 voice. 
 
 Her tormentor stood betwixt her and the Fountain 
 Gate. Therefore she fled down towards the mouth of 
 the Hinnom, which girding the city on the south empties 
 into the Valley of the Cedron not far below Siloam. 
 
 The mouth of the Hinnom, overshadowed by precip- 
 itous rock and the high city-wall, was of evil repute. 
 Not far above was the city-dump, called Tophet, or 
 Gehenna, where fires of refuse smouldered day and night. 
 Among the ancient rock-tombs lining the deep defile, 
 lepers and thieves took shelter, and also lunatics, who 
 by the superstition of the times were thought to be 
 possessed of devils. 
 
 Yet into this gloomy place the girl darted, repeating 
 at intervals her call for help. 
 
 Swift as was her flight, her pursuer was not far be- 
 hind. He had but lingered to put on his sandals, for 
 the sharp stones of the dried river-channel would other- 
 wise have cut his feet. He was hotly resolved to pos-
 
 28 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 sess this entrancing maiden. In all his wild bloody 
 young life he had listened to no law except his own fierce 
 passions. 
 
 As he coursed along the dark valley like a wolf, he 
 squinted sharply hither and thither. The region was 
 strange to him. The girl's cries guided him for the 
 first few moments. But when she reached the old tombs 
 of Hinnom, she ceased calling. And he, when he had 
 run on a little way, stopped, having lost her. 
 
 He peered all around in vain. The malodorous 
 smoke of Gehenna lay upon the air. Farther up the 
 gorge sullen purple clouds could be seen rising against 
 the sky from the smothered fires of Gehenna. At mo- 
 ments a fuliginous tongue of flame burst up, with a 
 crackling noise. A deceptive light flickered against the 
 grey rock-tombs and arid hillsides. 
 
 " By the face of God f " he muttered, astounded by 
 the dreary aspect of the place. " Was I more dreadful 
 to her than this ! Yet would I rather have lost the city 
 than that pearl among maidens ! " 
 
 A cautious motion far up the dark hill at his right, 
 under the city-wall, dislodged a trickle of earth, which 
 drew his keen eye. He thought he saw her flitting high 
 above him along the steep rocks where footing appeared 
 impossible. 
 
 Up he scrambled, with an exultant cry. 
 
 But having climbed twenty feet or so by dint of cling- 
 ing to every cranny, he was suddenly ambushed. A 
 bearded frowning face started out at him from behind an 
 old tomb. A staff was thrust between his legs, tripping 
 him.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 29 
 
 He tumbled headlong backward to the dry channel 
 below in a small avalanche of dislodged rubble. One 
 less agile would have received a broken neck from the 
 fall. 
 
 Stunned and helpless, he lay a moment rallying his 
 scattered senses. 
 
 A grating sound of footsteps warned him that his 
 assailant was descending upon him by a path a short 
 way off. 
 
 The instinct of defence remained alert. His hand 
 cautiously sought the hilt of a dagger under his cloak. 
 He feigned a swoon. 
 
 The man came and bent over him in the dim flicker 
 of the Gehenna fires reflected from the rocks. It was 
 a sturdy thick-shouldered labourer of middle age, with 
 bushy reddish beard and hair. In his right hand he 
 lifted a dark object like a broad club, as if to strike. 
 
 The dagger flashed out, its jewelled hilt coruscating 
 stars. Stabbing, the youth gathered himself to his 
 knees in the same movement. 
 
 " Not by a club at thy hands doth Hyrcanus die ! " 
 he exclaimed savagely between his teeth. " Deemest 
 thou the eagle of Gilead a barnyard cock, to be caught 
 sleeping ! " 
 
 His blow, delivered dizzily, almost at random, glanced, 
 but felled his astonished foe backward to the ground. 
 Skilled in close combat, he knew it had struck no vital 
 spot. He staggered over, caught the prostrate man's 
 beard with one hand, pushed back his head, and aimed 
 the death-stroke. 
 
 Surprise stayed the plunging knife.
 
 SO THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " May cords strangle me ! " said young Hyrcanus, and 
 stood up and stared. 
 
 The dark object in the man's fist, which he had sup- 
 posed to be a thick club, was a goatskin water-bottle 
 partly full. 
 
 He stepped back a pace or two, muttering, and put 
 his hand to his aching head. 
 
 The red-bearded man scrambled vigorously up. His 
 left forearm was bleeding, but he picked up his fallen 
 staff and threw himself in a stout attitude of defence. 
 
 " Stand off ! " he growled. 
 
 " Dog of a thief ! " demanded Hyrcanus sternly. 
 " What designedst thou to do with that? " He pointed 
 at the bottle. 
 
 " I was in fear that I had slain or wounded thee," 
 answered the other in a rough voice. " So I came think- 
 ing to revive thee. . . . Hold ! Stay where thou art 
 or feel the weight of this staff ! " 
 
 Hyrcanus puckered his brows in perplexity. 
 
 " But who striketh down a quarry and slayeth it not ! 
 Fool ! thou mightest have made thee master of this scrip 
 of this knife which hath gems . . ." 
 
 " I sought nothing of thy stuff," grumbled the man. 
 " I sought but to stay thy feet from evil which thou 
 wouldst have wrought upon the maid. And, lo, now I 
 bleed. If thou stand not farther off that I may bind 
 up this hurt in safety, I will even attack thee ere I grow 
 weak." 
 
 "Old fool!" cried Hyrcanus. "By my head! I 
 comprehend not thy talk ! Thou mightest have plucked 
 me like a chicken as I lay ! Why f oreborest thou ! "
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 31 
 
 He thrust the splendid dagger impetuously into its 
 sheath, and tore a piece of fine linen from about his neck. 
 " Nay, thy blood floweth fast. I will bind up thy 
 wound. I know not how it is," he protested eagerly, 
 " but I would rather this eye were plucked out than to 
 see thee bleed! " 
 
 He advanced with the linen in his hands, disdaining 
 the brandished staff. And as the red-bearded one, 
 doubtful of his purpose, continued to give ground be- 
 fore him, threatening him, he commanded him imperi- 
 ously to halt. 
 
 " If thou suffer me not to do thee this service, I will 
 even compel thee ! " 
 
 His remorse showed itself as fierce and headlong as 
 his other passion. He would brook no delay, but leaped 
 within the sweep of the staff, wrested it from its owner, 
 and forced him to submit to having his wound bandaged. 
 
 " Struggle not, fool ! I repent me that I stabbed thee. 
 Thou shalt have the contents of my scrip. . . . And the 
 sweet maid she was thy daughter? I take her for 
 a wife! What sayest thou! not thy daughter? 
 God's curse! Wherefore then earnest thou between 1 
 Nevertheless I repent me of this cut ! " 
 
 In the midst of his eager ministrations, came rushing 
 through the gloom a tall shaggy figure. 
 
 " Do I find thee thus, Master ! " exclaimed a deep 
 low angered voice. " Playest thou here with that bleat- 
 ing sheep ! " !A dark rapacious head, heavily whiskered, 
 with glittering eyes, was thrust between them. *' Know- 
 est thou not the peril! Come, Master, come! The 
 gate will shut ! "
 
 32 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 Aroused by these words, Hyrcanus suddenly aban- 
 doned his task, flung his purse at the peasant, and hur- 
 ried with the newcomer towards the gate. 
 
 But even as he ran, he muttered, 
 
 " Barabbas ! I saw a maiden my heart shouteth 
 for her ! All the vineyards of En-gedi contain not such 
 a cluster of camphire ! Her eyes nay, Barabbas ! 
 her lips they are sweeter than honey in the honey- 
 comb ! " A moment he strode on, silent, then with in- 
 tense fervour, " A little pomegranate full of buds is 
 she! She fled, Barabbas! Thou hast seen a leaf fly 
 before the hot south wind of the desert ! Thus she fled. 
 But I will find her ! " He shook his fists up at the high 
 dark city. " Though I tear down the houses of Jeru- 
 salem ! yea, though I burn the cloisters of the Temple, 
 ! I will find her!" 
 
 " What saying is this ! " growled the great robber. 
 " Thou seekest a crown, Master ! why lingerest thou 
 among the dovecotes I Haste ! Thou who wast suckled 
 by wild goats of Gilead, thou whose teeth were made 
 sharp on the armed caravans of the Leper, thou fierce 
 son of fierce Antigonus, stayest thou to prate of com- 
 mon women ! Win first thy crown ! Then shalt thou 
 choose thee out an hundred wives and concubines from 
 among the daughters of kings ! Faster ! '* 
 
 " Nay, lead on, old wolf ! " 
 
 Barabbas groped a moment along the shadowy ground 
 till his foot struck certain soft bulging objects. 
 
 " Here are the sacks of grain," said he. " Shoulder 
 thou the one, I the other. We must pass those Roman 
 dogs up yonder. Warily now, Master! Thy hand on
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 33 
 
 thy knife! If they question us, we must strike hard 
 and flee." 
 
 Bending low under the sacks like two harvest-la- 
 bourers returning burdened from the fields, they went 
 up the steep road to the Fountain Gate and entered in. 
 
 A brazen tuba pealed from the black tower. It pro- 
 claimed the shutting of the Holy City for the night. 
 All along the dark valley a thousand ancient tombs 
 caught up the sound and flung it back in hollow echoes 
 like a shouting of demons.
 
 IV 
 
 IN the Upper City of Jerusalem, midway between 
 the market-place and the old Gennath Gate, stood 
 the palace of Shealtiel. The massive grey house 
 of hewn stones, rising a full story above its neighbours 
 on the narrow street, with a single iron gate heavily 
 bolted and barred, was both residence and fortress for 
 its swarming inmates. In the tumultuous street-fight- 
 ing of ftie old days of John Hyrcanus and Antigonus 
 it had stood off more than one assault. 
 
 The housetop, fenced about by a secure parapet of 
 red tiles and shaded and screened by potted oleanders, 
 shrubs, and flowers, afforded privacy and air for the 
 women and children of the house. It was here they 
 enjoyed the cool of the day and performed various do- 
 mestic functions a Syrian custom older than the days 
 of that David whose sinful eyes had gazed upon the un- 
 veiled charms of Bathsheba. 
 
 On the evening of the events previously recorded, the 
 women and children of Shealtiel's household were gath- 
 ered in the garden above. But the master of the house 
 preferred solitude and his own cogitations. He paced 
 to and fro in the court below, an oblong enclosure paved 
 with large flagstones and surrounded by colonnaded 
 porches. 
 
 The risen moon had begun to streak the walls and 
 white pave with narrow silver bars. 
 
 34
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 35 
 
 Shealtiel, a spendthrift noble whose youth and in- 
 herited riches had been dissipated in the boon compan- 
 ionship of Archelaus, ere that weak monarch was 
 banished to northern wilds, came and went repeatedly 
 through these shafts of light. 
 
 He was a tall haggard man, shaven smooth in the 
 Roman style, as if to flaunt his contempt for the pro- 
 vincial prejudices of his fathers. His thin mouth hung 
 somewhat loose. The furrows indicative of wasted en- 
 ergies ruled deeply his sloping forehead and chin. A 
 pair of protruding eyes imparted to his face a strained 
 unnatural look. 
 
 His long tunic of fine twined linen, richly em- 
 broidered, shook out delicate perfumes at every move- 
 ment. 
 
 A young red fox trotted at his heels, secured by a 
 light copper chain. The master's right hand 
 trifled with a whip carried for the little animal's 
 correction. 
 
 Against a pillar of the nearest porch leaned a slender 
 boy-slave with folded arms in an apathetic attitude. 
 
 The hour was growing late. The cry of the watch- 
 men had traversed the wide circuit of the city. Only 
 the growling and snapping of pariah dogs was now to 
 be heard in the streets. But Shealtiel's women and 
 children still lingered on the housetop to enjoy the cool 
 breezes blowing down from the hills. The unwearied 
 clack of feminine voices ran through ripples of laughter 
 and screams of children at play. 
 
 Shealtiel's step, hasty and irregular, reflected the agi- 
 tation of his mind. He halted now in a deep muse, now
 
 36 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 started abruptly on. His prominent eyes turned con- 
 tinually towards the porter's lodge. At a louder burst 
 of gossipy tongues above, he twitched the fox's chain 
 and frowned. 
 
 " Go," said he to the slave-boy, pointing upward, 
 " and bid them depart at once to the gynaeceum. Their 
 noise rattles in mine ears like a dicer's box ! I will have 
 peace ! Bid them all retire, save my daughter Bernice 
 alone. Bid thou the Lady Bernice Stay ! " he in- 
 terrupted himself sharply, his harsh voice rising thin 
 and querulous. He whirled towards the gate in an atti- 
 tude of intent listening. 
 
 " My lord heareth the clatter of asses coming from 
 the Upper Pool," ventured the slave. 
 
 " Be silent ! " And the whip hissed, striking the boy 
 into trembling quiet. " Nay, one cometh," muttered 
 the master after a moment. 
 
 His ear, whetted by anxiety and hope, had caught a 
 slight sound far up the street. 
 
 An ass's hoofs came gradually nearer, clicking on the 
 ground, and stopped before the gate. 
 
 Someone spoke softly to the porter through the grille, 
 and was admitted. The iron bar slid along its iron 
 staples with a grinding sound. 
 
 There entered the court a young man wrapped in a 
 dark Roman cloak. He paused laughing to give some 
 careless order to the porter, who came leading stable- 
 ward his saddled beast. 
 
 " Phaleon ! " cried Shealtiel sharply. " My son ! 
 Again thou returnest and alone ! Hast thou seen 
 naught ! Thou laughest ! at such an hour ! "
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 87 
 
 " Turn hercule, I laugh not by the dial but on occa- 
 sion!" 
 
 Shealtiel stretched his arms upward at the shining 
 moon with a bitter gesture. 
 
 "He, my eldest born, laughs at my despair! A 
 heavy son hath he been to me ! wasteful ever, scatter- 
 ing with both hands ! In vain have I lavished my treas- 
 ures upon him! I stand now on the brink of ruin, 
 and he, my eldest born, seeing my heart consumed with 
 fear . . ." 
 
 " Nay, father," said the careless young man. " I 
 laughed but at mine own long waiting like a dog that 
 sniffs by the hour outside a cook's door. Thus in my 
 schooldays at Rome in the Forum Boarium . . .'* 
 
 " Peace with thy Roman gossip ! Have I sent thee 
 over-seas at so great cost to have mine ears stuffed now 
 with thy rags of foreign trappings! Speak, boy! 
 Hast thou discerned naught ! naught ! " 
 
 " Not a smell. Quid igltur! The morrow will 
 bring them." 
 
 " Where then, fool, will they abide safely for the 
 night!" 
 
 " A sorry king hast thou invited, if he have not a cop- 
 per lepton to buy food and shelter." 
 
 " That wolf -face of Barabbas it will betray them ! 
 Is the Gate of the Fountain verily closed? Thou saw- 
 est it shut? " 
 
 " The tuba was sounding even as I departed." 
 
 The youth gave this answer over his shoulder, yawn- 
 ing, as he turned to go indoors. 
 
 Shealtiel rubbed his hand over his ruffled brow and
 
 38 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 resumed his restless promenade. He continued to pace 
 to and fro for some minutes. At last his eye fell once 
 more on the slave-boy. 
 
 " What ! canker-worm ! " he exclaimed in sudden 
 recollection. " Art thou not yet gone ! To the house- 
 top! Bid them all to bed. It is my will! But unto 
 the Lady Bernice say thou that her father bids her come 
 straightway hither." 
 
 The boy fled upon his errand. His slight form could 
 be seen flitting up from portico to portico till he gained 
 the roof. 
 
 Swift silence ended the clack of tongues; the 
 shrieking cries of sportive children were hushed. 
 White female figures became visible rising hurriedly 
 against the star-dotted sky, gathering together cushions 
 and children, and departing into the house. 
 
 Some time passed. Then the boy ran back, cringing 
 and trembling. 
 
 " Master ! I have searched the gynaeceum of the 
 women nay, all the apartments of the house, and the 
 Lady Bernice cannot be found ! " 
 
 " Not found ! Sluggard ! At this hour of the 
 night ! " Furious at such an incredible tale, Shealtiel 
 lifted the whip. The boy cowered on his face on the 
 pavement. The little fox shrank backward on its chain. 
 " Thou hast slept on the stairs and now comest saying 
 my daughter cannot be found! Fool! Couldst thou 
 not have inquired of that old crone that doth attend 
 her!" 
 
 " I did ! I did, Master ! " shrieked the boy. " Good 
 Master, be merciful! Kedemah answered me not!
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 39 
 
 She shook but her head, muttering. Oh, good Master! 
 Oh! Oh! Aie! Oh!" 
 
 The lash hissed downward and struck. The little 
 slave screamed. The fox yelped in anticipation of simi- 
 lar punishment. 
 
 Shealtiel tucked back his sleeve with zest and delib- 
 erately raised his arm for a second blow. 
 
 At that moment a girl came flying out like a bird 
 from the black shadow of a portico. 
 
 " Father ! " she panted, as if breathless from muclj. 
 running. " Whip not the child ! Spare him ! Little 
 Philip is altogether blameless. Lo, here am I ! " 
 
 She cast herself on her knees beside the boy and 
 stretched over him her slender arms in protection. The 
 descending blow struck her shoulder, among the folds of 
 her disordered attire, which seemed to have been hur- 
 riedly flung on. 
 
 It knocked a gold coin from some nook in the sleeve 
 where it had lodged. The coin rolled and clinked on 
 the rough flagstones. 
 
 But the girl heeding neither its loss nor the pain of 
 the blow continued to stretch her arms up to her father 
 in entreaty. 
 
 Reluctantly Shealtiel stayed his arm and gazed down 
 at his daughter in frowning surprise. 
 
 " Bernice ! At last thou comest ! " 
 
 " I did but linger to change first my garments, in 
 which it was not proper that I come before thy face." 
 
 " Why then presumed he to say that he found thee 
 not ! " Shealtiel looked again for the little slave as if 
 to resume the chastisement. But the boy, under cover
 
 40 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 of the intercession, had crawled hastily aside and was 
 now some way off wriggling his smarting back and 
 sobbing. Instead of him, the Master's eye fell on the 
 coin, which glinted in the moonlight. 
 
 " As I live, a gold stater! " cried Shealtiel, stoop- 
 ing to pick it up. " Where findest thou money like 
 this, Bernice, to sprinkle on the ground ! " 
 
 " Nay, it caught perchance in my garments as I 
 made haste to attire me for thy presence." 
 
 " But when have I distributed coins like this in the 
 gynaeceum? " 
 
 The girl made a brave attempt to smile, although her 
 lip trembled. 
 
 " Oft is thy hand," she said with quick evasion, 
 " more lavish in giving than even thine own eye 
 knoweth." 
 
 In putting the question however, her father's mind 
 veered to other matters. He turned, pressing the silver 
 whip-handle irresolutely on his lower lip, and paced 
 twice up and down, lost in thought. Finally he stopped 
 before her. 
 
 " I summoned thee ..." he began ; and then with 
 sudden kindness, " Nay, rise, my daughter ! Bruise 
 not thy tender knees on the rough stones." Drawing 
 her up he held her face between his palms, so that 
 the white moonlight fell upon its delicate lineaments. 
 He narrowly examined each feature. " Would the 
 cheek were a hairbreadth fuller ! " he muttered. 
 " But the eyes of exceeding depth, fringed by lashes 
 like bulrushes about the fish-pools of Heshbon, yea, 
 the faint half -flush, why, it is a flower-face, a very
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 41 
 
 marvel, fashioned by the gods for the lure of man! 
 I thank them for this gift ! " 
 
 His manner caused the slender Bernice to tremble, 
 but she still smiled, dissembling her fears. 
 
 " I am glad if I have found favour in my father's 
 sight." 
 
 " A finger-span more would not have harmed," mused 
 Shealtiel. " Stature is ever accounted a noble grace 
 in woman. Yet do not I so greatly favour it. Nor 
 did Archelaus." He seemed to recall his thoughts from 
 a distance. " Whither have all thy light songs fled, 
 Bernice?" he demanded sharply. 
 
 " Hast thou inclined thine ear to them, my father ? " 
 
 " True I have been beset by cares. I have lingered 
 not among my wives and children. Still, I have 
 missed thee. Of recent months thou hast shunned mine 
 eye." 
 
 " Was it fitting thy daughter should come before 
 thee without thy commandment? " 
 
 He made a quick irritable motion of his hand. 
 
 " Of former years thy singing sounded in the house 
 from the dusk of dawn! Ever a gay laughing little 
 maid wast thou. It comes to me clear. Ever as a 
 babe thou didst dance and play and sing about the 
 knees of thy old nurse what call you her? " 
 
 " Kedemah." 
 
 " On thy fourteenth birthday thou didst dance be- 
 fore me amidst the harpers. Thou didst sing, asking 
 of me a gift. Where now is thy mirth, Bernice? thy 
 sweet songs to the lute? thy laughter? thy brisk-dan- 
 cing feet? Nay, I remember me, thy pink toes
 
 42 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 twinkled on the floor like pomegranate buds tossed on 
 the wind ! " 
 
 Bernice answered rather piteously : 
 
 " I will even dance again and sing yea, and laugh 
 too if my father will it." 
 
 " I do, my daughter, I do ! A gay spirit in woman 
 hath a singular potency upon the imagination of man's 
 heart." He released her but stood before her with a 
 brooding look, the whip-handle pressed against his chin. 
 " See thou, Bernice," said he gloomily. " This house 
 is falling to ruin. Thou hast thy father's fortunes to 
 mend. I am as a dicer who hath staked his last gar- 
 ment on the throw. And even if the gods favour the 
 cast, thy hand thy hand, Bernice, must gather and 
 guard the stakes for me ! " 
 
 Her eyes grew wide and scared. 
 
 " How may I do this thing? " she sighed. '* I am 
 but a weak maid, timid of heart, and my hand is 
 small!" 
 
 Shealtiel peered into the shadows under the colonnades. 
 He drew the girl more towards the middle of the court. 
 
 " Come thou hither lest we be overheard ! 
 Hearken! Incline thine ear more closely! My debts 
 creep on me like hyenas about a fallen horse. John 
 the Leper hath me in his net. He might crush me as 
 a worm! He delayeth only till he shall have pressed 
 me quite dry . . . ' 
 
 " My father, all my life long have I heard thee thus 
 complain at whiles. Yet is thy roof over our head." 
 
 " Yea, I have fought it off long ! Now is the end. 
 I can no more ! So, ere the doom fall, I to save myself
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 43 
 
 have cast in my lot where thinkest thou! with 
 young Hyrcanus ! " 
 
 " Oh ! " cried the girl with a start. " The fierce and 
 bloody outlaw prince ! " 
 
 " Peace ! Not so loud ! Naught else remained ! I 
 was ever a gamester. Barabbas hath joined him with 
 many armed men. Here in the city the Zealots may be 
 won over. Why, it is a brave chance! Hyrcanus will 
 yet sit on the throne of his fathers and drive out the 
 Roman. Why, if he capture the city but for two days, 
 much might happen, the Hall of Archives might 
 burn, for one, and with it all my pledges of debt! 
 Nay, it is a hope! Hyrcanus is a daring and crafty 
 warrior." 
 
 His words were fanning up his own courage. He 
 lifted his head, his eyes sparkled. His hand smoothed 
 his daughter's dark hair. 
 
 " Lo, now, Bernice ! This beauty of thine is a pre- 
 cious gift from the sky-dwellers! Thou shalt secure 
 in the new kingdom much power and glory for thy 
 father's house. Thou shalt exercise over this new king 
 the selfsame rule which Mariamne held over the hot 
 heart of Herod." 
 
 Her black lashes veiled her downcast eyes. 
 
 "I hear, father," she murmured. 
 
 It was too meek an attitude and tone. Her father 
 eyed her with distrust, frowned, and gave her shoulder 
 a shake. 
 
 " Wench ! is it all one if I speak of to-morrow's 
 weather or of thy father's salvation! Thou wast not 
 formerly thus so devoid of spirit ! Nay, thou
 
 r 44. THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 hadst ever a sly way of gaining thine own ends in de- 
 spite of me ! '* 
 
 " My father's will be done," she answered trembling. 
 
 " Give heed then ! To-night cometh or perchance 
 on the morrow cometh one who will presently sit on 
 Herod's vacant throne." He spoke hurriedly, with agi- 
 tated pauses,, lowering his voice. " The favour of 
 kings, Bernice, is like unto a wind it bloweth one 
 hour and the next is gone. O child of my bowels, 
 hearken ! What sure cord have I to bind me and mine 
 unto this new king in his day of triumph as now in his 
 night of need ! Thou thou art my cord . . . Hist ! '* 
 He stopped and stood listening. 
 
 The hammer at the porter's gate, wielded by a strong 
 hand, sent a loud metallic clash reverberating through 
 the court. 
 
 " He cometh ! '* muttered Shealtiel. 'A glister of 
 sweat sprang out suddenly all over his haggard face. 
 
 The porter appeared from the stables, his mouth 
 agape with yawns, rubbing his eyes. He brought a 
 lighted link. As he stumbled sleepily across the court, 
 the red flame chased the shadows from the pillared 
 porches. 
 
 Lord Shealtiel rushed at him in a kind of frenzy, 
 plucked the torch from his fist, and dashed out the 
 flame in a shower of sparks on the ground. 
 
 " Fool ! " he exclaimed, beating him. " Who bade 
 thee outshine the moon! Go! Inquire guardedly at 
 the grating. If they be two without who bear seed- 
 corn from Bethhoren, admit them." 
 
 He whirled again upon his daughter.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 45 
 
 " Thou, Bernice ! " said he in a hoarse voice. " Now 
 shalt thou be the keystone of my fortunes! Make 
 haste to thy chamber ! Adorn thee ! Command thine 
 old tiring-woman to perfume thy garments with myrrh 
 it hath a more voluptuous savor. Broaden with the 
 pencil thine eyebrows, thus is more passion lent unto 
 a woman's glances, nor forget the henna for thy 
 fingernails. The jewels of thy dead mother ever 
 my favourite wife was she bind thou on thy neck 
 and arms and ankles. To-night, O Bernice, hearken 
 to-night shalt thou dance thy way into the heart of a 
 king! Go!" 
 
 Her lips quivered wistfully. Her eyes implored him. 
 She knelt and would have clung to the skirts of his gar- 
 ment, but he thrust her rudely off. 
 
 " Begone ! " he muttered. He was all intent on that 
 low sound of voices at the gate, and quite unaware of 
 her mute appeal. " Begone, fool ! Wouldst be seen in 
 this disorder ! " 
 
 Plucking his skirts loose from her grasp, he hurried 
 away. 
 
 Thereat the meekness vanished from her face. Her 
 eyes flashed rebellious fire. She clenched her hands and 
 struck them together. 
 
 " I will not do this wicked thing ! " she whispered 
 furiously. " I will not ! I will not ! I will not !" 
 
 She sprang up from her knees and rushed, with 
 her black wave of hair streaming behind, into the 
 house. 
 
 The iron bars at the gate gave forth a rumbling 
 sound in the staples.
 
 SHEALTIEL had stepped into the short covered 
 passage leading from the gate. The shadow 
 there was dense. He leaned against the wall and 
 waited. 
 
 Two dim forms presently came stumbling over the 
 uneven pavement, bending under some sort of burdens. 
 One of the two flung down his burden of a sudden, and 
 straightened up. 
 
 " Do I enter my kingdom as an ass ! " exclaimed he 
 with impatience. " I bear this not another step ! " 
 
 Thereat the other, a great shaggy phantom in a 
 coat of undressed sheepskins, cast down his burden in 
 like manner, growling, 
 
 " Have a hand on thy knife, Master ! The place is 
 dark! In these narrow walls a man may not breathe 
 full without peril. For that Shealtiel, Master, trust 
 him not. He hath shaved off the beard of his fathers, 
 and goeth shameless with a face would sell us both to 
 Annas for a half -shekel! Thrice have I met him in 
 these secret dealings, and scarce could keep my sword 
 from his bowels." 
 
 " Nay, Barabbas ! He is tied too fast in a chain of 
 golden promises." 
 
 " Distrust him, Master, ne'ertheless." 
 
 The mutter of their stern voices caused Shealtiel 
 
 to lean stealthily forward listening. But at his first 
 
 46
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 47, 
 
 motion the keen desert-trained eyes and ears detected 
 him. There was a rasp of steel blades snatched from 
 sheaths. 
 
 " Who cometh ! " 
 
 " Peace unto you ! " responded Shealtiel. He ad- 
 vanced and knelt upon the ground. " O King, live 
 forever! It is I, thy servant Shealtiel. I and all in 
 this house are thine. Long have I waited thy coming! 
 A heavy stone is lifted from my heart." 
 
 "Rise," said young Hyrcanus not without majesty, 
 and lifted and ceremoniously embraced him. " Thou, 
 first to hail me, shalt be first in my kingdom ! " 
 
 "And I, Master?" jealously grunted the robber. 
 " I who hailed thee already in the desert ! " 
 
 " Thou shalt be unto me even as a father, Barabbas. 
 But lo, Shealtiel, we have journeyed far; we do 
 hunger and thirst." 
 
 " All is prepared against thy coming," said 
 Shealtiel. 
 
 He conducted them indoors with many low bows, and 
 despatched a slave to summon his son Phaleon to aid 
 him in ministering to his guests at their ablutions. 
 
 Attired soon in fresh and fragrant linen, they en- 
 tered the banquet-chamber. 
 
 Along the walls bronze lamps of flat Jewish design 
 burned with ruddy flame. Spices sprinkled therein 
 sent up a faint whitish smoke heavily perfumed. 
 Green rushes were strewed on the floor. The table, 
 forming three sides of a square in the style of the pe- 
 riod, was adorned with flowers. The triclinium or re- 
 clining couch, liberally cushioned, occupied the outer
 
 48 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 side of the board, leaving the inner free for the serv- 
 ants to bear the chargers in and out. 
 
 It had been understood that for caution's sake the 
 two guests were to be treated as kinsmen newly arrived 
 from Antioch. But Shealtiel conducted young Hyr- 
 canus to the central couch, the protoklisia or place of 
 honour, which was significantly draped in purple. 
 
 Barabbas he assigned to the prince's left, stationed 
 himself at the right, and motioned Phaleon to a lower 
 seat. 
 
 A clapping of the hands sufficed as a signal to the 
 tricliniarch or steward. Servants swarmed in with 
 amphoras of wine and chargers of food. The feast 
 began. 
 
 Not in vain had Shealtiel dwelt of old in the palaces 
 of kings. The crafty courtier of Archelaus, schem- 
 ing now for power in the new kingdom, practised va- 
 rious wiles to strengthen his influence over the mind of 
 young Hyrcanus. 
 
 And first he sought to astonish him with his wealth, 
 splendour, and magnanimity. For thus he designed to 
 overshadow Barabbas, whom under courteous pretexts 
 he held up to sly ridicule. 
 
 The great black robber was determined, for his own 
 part, to brook no rival for the king's favour. But 
 amid these luxurious appointments, more Grecian than 
 Jewish, peculiar to the optimates of Judea, he appeared 
 to disadvantage, not without his secret consciousness 
 thereof and resentment. He sprawled insolently along 
 the couch, one hairy shoulder protruding from the 
 white linen stretched across his thick-muscled chest.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 49 
 
 In this attitude he devoured greedily and barbarously 
 handfuls of delicate provender, thrusting his coarse 
 paw into the strange dishes. 
 
 Shealtiel slyly plied him with heady Cyprian wine, 
 which he, ignorant of its intoxicating effect, poured 
 down his bearded throat by brimming cupfuls. 
 
 The gross manners of the ruffian excited the con- 
 tempt of Phaleon, a city-bred youth. 
 
 " This fellow, who hath robbed many, kisses now a 
 greater thief," murmured the latter in safe Latin to his 
 father. 
 
 Across the board the eye of Barabbas dwelt in men- 
 acing doubt upon the laughing young man. 
 
 " Have the Roman dogs enslaved likewise thy tongue, 
 boy, as thy dress ! " 
 
 " I did but commend my father's choice of wines," re- 
 plied Phaleon. " Findest thou the liquor to thy 
 taste?" 
 
 " The wine is good too good to be praised in 
 Latin! Yet hath John the Leper oft supplied my 
 cellars with as good! Thinkest thou, boy, I have not 
 drunk good wine ere now ! " Then to Hyrcanus, dis- 
 playing his white fanglike teeth, he growled, " A soft 
 nest, Master! They that dwell in such must needs be 
 soft." He crunched an almond, grinning. " Wait, 
 Master! When the hour sounds, thy old wolfs jaws 
 will crack Jerusalem like this nut." 
 
 " In that day," said the prince, ** were Barabbas a 
 thousand hungry wolves, he shall be filled." 
 
 Thereupon, smooth Shealtiel : " Let my king once 
 sit upon the throne of his fathers, the ancient and
 
 60 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 glorious Asmonean line, I too shall be filled though 
 it be but with his glory." 
 
 " Not on diet so thin do I feed my helpers ! " cried 
 Hyrcanus. " Thou shalt have John of Petra to 
 pluck." 
 
 " Adhuc tua messis in herba," murmured Phaleon 
 to his father with laughter behind his palm. 
 
 " Master ! " scowled the robber. " If thou have not 
 given him the fat of the whole kingdom, I am a Samari- 
 tan!" 
 
 " Nay, old friend, thou shalt have the opening of 
 David's Tomb." 
 
 Barabbas combed his grease-shining fingers through 
 his wiry beard in drunken calculation. 
 
 " The digging might be repaid," he grumbled. 
 Presently he lifted high his cup, his eyes flaring. 
 " Hail to the new kingdom," he howled, " when all 
 Pharisee fat shall find new ribs ! " 
 
 The feast progressed. Wine flowed freely. The 
 manner of the banqueters became continually less re- 
 strained. Barabbas emptied innumerable cups of the 
 strong Cyprian liquor, veering between moods of feroc- 
 ity and hilarious mirth. He laughed, shouted, cursed, 
 sung, or hurled articles at the slaves. Phaleon, who 
 had a weak head for wine, giggled and with vapid gaze 
 talked constantly in Latin, to which no one listened. 
 
 As night wore, Hyrcanus too, excited by new hopes 
 and frequent libations, turned a greedy ear to 
 Shealtiel's sly flatteries. His forehead flushed. His 
 eyes became bright and unsteady. The reins of his 
 tongue were loosed.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 51 
 
 " Jerusalem once fallen," he exclaimed, " I afford 
 time neither for the Roman to rally nor discontent to 
 gather head. I muster this army of men and horses. 
 I strike first Caesarea, the gateway see thou from 
 the sea." He drew lines of spilled wine before him on 
 the board. " Thus I gain me a twelvemonth see 
 thou ere the legions gather again on this coast. On 
 Joppa I descend as a whirlwind, on Askelon. They 
 skip before me as grasshoppers! I assemble the multi- 
 tude, choose me out men of war, chariots, horses! I 
 overrun Perea, Samaria, all Galilee. Tyre I put to the 
 sword, likewise Seleucia. Thus knitting quickly my 
 kingdom, I spread the terror of my name even unto 
 Damascus. Arabia joineth hands with me; nay, 
 lean thine ear closer, my friend, I tell thee privately, 
 I hold a pledge of old King Aretas now! We join 
 hands at last, to meet the Romans in the passes of 
 Coele Syria, at the fords of Leontes. There shall the 
 hills flow down blood, the kites gather quickly, and 
 hyenas laugh by night over the slain ! " 
 
 " Craftier than Herod ! " murmured Shealtiel. 
 "Bolder than Herod! Greater than Herod! Drink 
 again ! Drink to thy kingdom ! " 
 
 " Death to all Roman dogs ! " shouted Barabbas, 
 pouring cupfuls of red wine down his throat. " Drink, 
 Master ! What whispers there in thine ear that soft re- 
 cliner among pillows ! Heed him not, Master ! He hath 
 a crafty face ! But hath he an arm for bow or spear or 
 sword like unto mine ! " 
 
 He bared his long muscle-knotted swarthy arm and 
 waved it aloft.
 
 52 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 Hyrcanus drained his cup. His eyes flashed yet 
 more wildly. Veins stood out dark on his spacious 
 forehead. 
 
 " I shall build me a mighty kingdom ! Earth shall 
 ring with my glory! In war I shall equal David, in 
 riches and splendour Solomon! Then having all the 
 world under my heel I shall I shall . . . Let me 
 see ! what shall I then do ? ... Oh, aye ! I shall 
 then take unto me wives of the daughters of kings. 
 Stay! I shall first take unto me that little maid with 
 the blue mantle that met me by the Pool of Siloam! 
 Nay, why wait until I have first done all those other 
 things ! I will take her now, could I but find her ! 
 I will rake Jerusalem for her! She is a young quail 
 calling to its mate in the corn! She hath eyes like 
 . . . And I did break her pitcher ! " 
 
 Barabbas shaking his wine-wet beard burst out in a 
 coarse comic song, which he accompanied by maudlin 
 gestures, 
 
 "Take a lute, go about the city, 
 
 Harlot that hast been forgotten! 
 Make sweet melody, sing many songs, 
 That thou mayest be remembered ! " 
 
 Phaleon tried to beat time on the table, and joined 
 a wandering voice to the tune. His head had begun to 
 roll heavily on his shoulders. 
 
 Lifting himself drunkenly on his elbow, Hyrcanus 
 shook back his cloud of hair. 
 
 "The first seat in my kingdom," he cried, " to who 
 bringeth me the little maid with the broken pitcher!"
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 53 
 
 " Ho, Shealtiel ! " shouted the robber. " Hast thou 
 not music to grace thy feast? " 
 
 " Ye shall have both music and dancing." 
 
 The Judean noble clapped his hands. 
 
 A double file of slaves entered, men and women, with 
 stringed harps, lutes, and viols. 
 
 Squatting on their heels against the wall, they be- 
 gan to strum. The air of the room, on which the white 
 scented smoke from the lamps hung in filmy drifts, 
 vibrated to the harmonious sound of the instruments. 
 
 A well-formed young woman, almost naked, sprang in 
 from behind the curtain at the doorway, and danced 
 with clicking castanets. As she rested, panting, a man 
 entered and danced opposite her. Then both danced 
 and leaped together, accompanying their steps by 
 gestures. 
 
 Shealtiel carefully watched the dark countenance of 
 the prince, and when he noted its rising animation, 
 
 " Thy servant," he said softly, " delighteth to honour 
 his King. Behold, thou hast lamented the beauty of 
 some common maid that met thee at Siloam. But now 
 will I summon my daughter to dance before thee. So 
 shall thy sorrows flee away as a shadow." He clapped 
 his hands once more. " Bid my daughter Bernice ap- 
 pear and dance before my guests the Love Dance of 
 the Shulamite." 
 
 The curtain opened. Instead of Bernice, however, 
 an aged slave-woman entered, withered and yellow like 
 a melon. 
 
 Barabbas burst into a roar of laughter: 
 
 " O beautiful daughter of Shealtiel ! dance before
 
 54 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 us ! dance before us ! Skip as a young hart on the 
 hills!" 
 
 Falling on her knees the old woman, in a voice which 
 piped and twittered with age, said, 
 
 " The Lady Bernice lieth on her bed, O Master, and 
 prayeth that her father will mercifully excuse her until 
 she have gained more strength." 
 
 Wrath and mortification whitened Shealtiel's shaven 
 visage. " Go straightway, Kedemah," said he be- 
 tween his gritted teeth, " and bid my daughter arise 
 and come quickly! Or, by the living God, I will have 
 her brought hither on her bed! She shall feel the 
 weight of my severe displeasure ! Go ! " And to the 
 musicians he cried savagely, " Play on ! " 
 
 The harps twanged. A boy sang a Syrian love- 
 song in a sweet warbling voice. 
 
 At the end of this the old Kedemah reappeared from 
 behind the curtain, spread a rug upon the floor, and 
 made a sign to the harpers. 
 
 They changed to a slower measure, accompanying it 
 vocally by a throbbing chant, the prelude to the Love 
 Dance of the Shulamite. The music dwindled to a 
 subdued rhythm that haunted the silence expectantly. 
 Kedemah held back the curtain. 
 
 Bernice entered, her face concealed by a thick white 
 veil, her slim arms and ankles encircled by massive gold 
 bands. From her neck hung a many-stranded neck- 
 lace of antique gems that clicked and sparkled as she 
 moved. She was attired necessarily in the costume of 
 a dancing-girl, the body semi-nude, the white limbs and 
 softly rounded breasts visible through gauze drapery.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 55 
 
 Nevertheless Shealtiel frowned. 
 
 " She hath hid herself like unto the holy of holies ! " 
 he muttered in the prince's ear. " But wait ! When 
 in the dance she unveileth, such a face as thou shalt 
 then see ! " 
 
 The girl began to dance. 
 
 Her delicate form undulated easily to the slow soft 
 beat of the music. It was like the swaying of a palm- 
 stem to the gentle pressure of the wind. The bare feet, 
 blue-veined and slender, glided hither and thither over 
 the scarlet rug on pink-white toes. The shining arms 
 lifted and drooped. At times she bent almost to the 
 floor in languid poses, or swayed like a reed shaken by 
 running water. She moved as in a dream. For thus 
 the Love Dance betokens the life of the Shulamite ere 
 the king's love enters it. 
 
 Gradually the rhythm quickened, the voices grew 
 louder, more throbbing. Now was love's first awaken- 
 ing. The viols wailed. Across the vibrating strings 
 of the harps swept wild clashes and gusts of half -dis- 
 cordant sound. Bernice's white feet twinkled to the 
 brisker measure; her sweet body fluttered birdlike 
 through successive portrayals of surprise, dismay, re- 
 fusal, flight, capture, at last consent. 
 
 Here the gross taste of the Orient called for more 
 wanton gestures. Shealtiel perceiving how his daugh- 
 ter evaded these, frowned repeatedly. 
 
 " She is confused dancing before thee," he apol- 
 ogised to the prince, and called out sharply to her that 
 she was forgetting. 
 
 As she danced, she lifted her hands at last to un-
 
 56 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 wind the veil. Hyrcanus leaned forward with flashing 
 eyes. 
 
 But for Barabbas this unveiling came too slowly. 
 He sprang up smacking his lips. 
 
 " The maid shall have a man ! " shouted the tipsy 
 ruffian. 
 
 Putting a foot upon the table, he made to leap over 
 and clasp her in his arms. She, alarmed in the midst 
 of her unwinding of the veil, uttered a cry of fear at 
 that formidable prospect. 
 
 Her cry caused Hyrcanus to start. He caught the 
 robber fiercely by the ankle and dragged him down. 
 
 " Old stuffed goatskin ! " cried he. " The maid is 
 mine ! Lay thou one finger on her, I slit thee like a 
 bladder!" 
 
 Thick veins of passion swelled and darkened on his 
 forehead. Out leaped the jeweled dagger. 
 
 Barabbas, who had thundered down among the cups, 
 grappled him by the wrist, howling curses. Dismay 
 chilled the hearts of all while these two tigerish brawlers 
 locked in a brief struggle on the flower-strewn board. 
 
 But suddenly the robber burst into maudlin laughter 
 and relaxed his hold. 
 
 " Lo ! " he squealed, pointing with his hand. " Lo ! '* 
 
 Hyrcanus, who in the grapple had rolled over the 
 other and won the floor beyond, turned dizzily towards 
 the dancer. 
 
 " The voice . . ." he exclaimed, " that I heard 
 
 5> 
 
 
 
 She had stopped. The unwound veil, taken from 
 her face, hung in her clasped hands. He peered
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 57 
 
 eagerly, then staggered back, brushing his hand across 
 his eyes. 
 
 " It was the wine ! " he muttered. " Naught else ! 
 Stone me at Golgotha, if I had not a strange thought 
 in my head just now! The wine hath made me mad! " 
 
 Shealtiel turned from watching the prince to the girl. 
 At once he struck an incredulous attitude. 
 
 " What ! What foolery is this ! " he stammered. 
 " Wench ! Hath some perverse devil possessed thee ! 
 God of my fathers! Thou hast painted thy face like 
 like a damn'd Jezebel ! " 
 
 The wit of Bernice had found a way of foiling her 
 father's design concerning her, under pretense of obedi- 
 ence. He had told her to use the pencil. Therefore 
 she had broadened her eyebrows enormously, arching one 
 higher than the other. She had splashed carmine, as it 
 were frantically, about her lips ; even her nose had not 
 escaped the sanguine hue. 
 
 These artifices hid her beauty as securely as a mask. 
 
 Fury and shame quivered on Shealtiel's pale features. 
 He hurled a goblet which struck her on the temple and 
 felled her to the floor. 
 
 " Bear her out ! " he shouted. " Begone ! all of 
 you ! Some devil doth mock me to-night ! " 
 
 The frightened slaves rose from their heels tumultu- 
 ously and fled. Old Kedemah rushed in with grey 
 hair flying and dragged away the unconscious girl. 
 
 " Aie ! Aie ! " she wailed in falsetto. The cry could 
 be heard diminishing along the halls, " Aie ! Aie ! " 
 
 Hyrcanus pressed his thumbs to his eyeballs, and 
 gazed around with drunken bewildered stare.
 
 58 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 On the wrecked table Barabbas sprawled, emitting 
 bestial squeals and tossing handfuls of flowers in air. 
 Young Phaleon had yielded altogether to stupor, and 
 lay limp on the triclinium, his swollen face and dishev- 
 elled hair suspended over the cushioned edge. Spilled 
 wine dripped with a faint steady patter on the floor. 
 Several lean dogs which had crept in were snapping up 
 the crumbs. The smoke of expiring lamps and burnt 
 perfumes hung thick on the heated atmosphere, in 
 which was mingled the sour odor of wine. 
 
 Only the master of the feast seemed to have remained 
 sober. He, recovered from his moment's transport of 
 rage, stood quietly, gnawing his loose under-lip, and re- 
 garded with intent eyes the peculiar astonishment of 
 the prince. 
 
 " Wherefore art thou so amazed, O King? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " Nay," said Hyrcanus drowsily, " thy daughter 
 hath a most sweet voice ... A pity it is, her face 
 . . . Nay, sleep and wine weigh on me like lead! . . . 
 Shealtiel, thy strong wine hath . . . hath confused my 
 wits. Lead me to a bed."
 
 VI 
 
 LORD SHEALTIEL arose from his bed at dawn. 
 There had visited him in the night troops of 
 fears and far-flung schemes that would not let 
 him sleep. 
 
 He paced the cool grey upper-porches of his house 
 in glum thought, his thumbs hooked in his girdle, his 
 chin on his breast, his prominent eyes bent upon the 
 ground. But when the sun lifted above the gardens of 
 Olivet and flamed against the housetop, he entered the 
 chamber where his eldest born snored. 
 
 " Phaleon ! " said he, impatiently shaking him. 
 " Awake, my son ! I have need of thee ! Faugh ! 
 the breath of thy mouth is as an old wine-vat un- 
 cleansed and sour ! Awake ! " 
 
 The dissipated youth sat up grumbling and groan- 
 ing and blinked at him with inflamed visage. He 
 licked his dry lips and put his hands to the sides of 
 his head. 
 
 " What hour is it ? Heu! Mvlto tempora quassa 
 mero! " 
 
 " Phaleon, what thinkest thou ? Speak thy mind 
 freely. We are alone." 
 
 " Immo vero, they have hides a span thick ! Ere I 
 could spy the bottom of my cup, that old wolf had 
 guzzled four and five, gnashing his tusks and calling 
 for more. Yet here am I as if drubbed with sticks ! "
 
 60 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 He pressed his head, groaning. " For thy Hyrcanus 
 
 5> 
 
 " It is of him I would have thee speak," said Shealtiel 
 softly. "What thinkest thou, will he be king?" 
 
 " Am I a divinator ! Go toss a denarius to that 
 hunchback what call they him ? Nadab ! he who 
 hath the camel of many tricks. He will read thee a 
 future straightway on the palm of thy hand." 
 
 " Thou mistakest. I meant what of this prince's 
 wit? If once he sitteth on the throne, will he be king? 
 Or, as in the days of John Hyrcanus, will some shrewd 
 Antipater move the affairs of state from behind the 
 throne?" 
 
 " Woe to who plays Antipater with such an one ! 
 If that eye rolling and flashing in his head be not great 
 Herod's own, nescio hercle! And on his forehead 
 the black net of veins sawest thou ? as if the boil- 
 ing blood must burst its channels ! " 
 
 " A mark of the Asmonean stock." 
 
 " I was far gone in wine, but it sticks in my mind's 
 eye how he overthrew that big bull of Bashan! 
 Pulcherrime conjectum! The robber's black throat 
 was not worth a copper lepton's purchase ! " 
 
 " O son, my very thought I This Hyrcanus hath a 
 temper quick, terrible, veering like the wind at Joppa 
 that strews wrecks along the shore. The fierce As- 
 monean blood ! " 
 
 " He being king, we shall all dance to his music. 
 One misstep . . ." 
 
 The youth drew his hand edgewise across the back 
 of his neck.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 61 
 
 "Again mine inmost thought, Phaleon, child of my 
 bowels ! A fickle sunshine shall we bask in ! " 
 Shealtiel rubbed one hand over the back of the other as 
 if cold. " I who have tasted the gratitude of princes 
 ere now, took I not my profit in wisdom ? Shall I 
 hang upon his good-will, to be given perchance a 
 lower seat in his councils than Barabbas! Shall I 
 scramble amid a swarm of others for his favours ? " 
 
 " We shall see many scrambling for high places in 
 the new kingdom," remarked Phaleon musingly, wise in 
 his generation. " Tibi scenae serviendum est! " 
 
 The skin crinkled about Shealtiel's eyes. 
 
 " This king shall be as wax beneath my hands. I 
 did purpose . . . What devil of folly possessed thy 
 sister Bernice I To foul her face so hideously with the 
 pigments ! " 
 
 Phaleon burst into a sudden laugh. 
 
 " Nay, I call it to mind ! Her painted cheeks came 
 forth from the veil like old curds from a bottle! 
 Thinking mine eyes strangely watered, I winked. 
 lo Bacche! being shut, they opened not again." 
 
 " The lamp in her chamber was dim, or the hollow 
 mirror deceived her fingers. That old crone who at- 
 tendeth her is half blind of age. Most unlucky it was ! 
 Yet the prince would have stabbed Barabbas for hot 
 desire of her." 
 
 Quoth Phaleon dryly : " It was ere she unveiled." 
 
 " Nay, he marked her daubed face closely even after. 
 Moreover he was deep in wine. And wine hath a fleet- 
 ing memory. Thy task begins, my son." 
 
 " Quid turn! "
 
 62 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Instil cunningly into his ear praises of thy sister 
 Bernice, of her beauty and wit. Gods ! I do repent 
 me that in mine anger I smote her ! she hath an un- 
 sightly bruise that will keep her hid. But do thou 
 bring her oft and pleasantly before his fancy, sowing 
 the seed of desire." 
 
 " Peace ! " cried Phaleon with confidence. " If I 
 train not the royal leopard to lick her feet, spit on 
 me for a braying ass of Edom ! " 
 
 His father stood musing a while. 
 
 " My Phaleon, he babbled of some water-drawer at 
 Siloam. For such fancies, they are weeds that 
 spring up in a night, as quickly to wither, having no 
 root. But do thou, O son, plant in his heart a desire 
 of thy sister which, of slower growth, shall be as an 
 olive tree abiding forever. Haste now ! Arise ! 
 Be thou in attendance as the prince awakes." 
 
 " Aie ! a pocillum first to cool my fevered 
 tongue ! " complained the youth, getting to his feet and 
 going unsteadily from the room. 
 
 Hyrcanus, the last of the Asmoneans, retained many 
 characteristics of that cruel brilliant terrible line. A 
 certain madness in the blood had been whipped to 
 ferocity by his outlawed career of desert warfare. He 
 was a prey to unbridled passions. 
 
 The Asmonean genius for daring intrigue, however, 
 was not lacking in him. He was not to be overmatched 
 in guile. 
 
 His push for a throne pitted him against desperate 
 odds. His hope lay in harnessing together divers in- 
 terests fiercely antagonistic.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 63 
 
 To each ambitious self-seeker he promised all things, 
 secretly. It was an unscrupulous age, and he em- 
 ployed the recognised arts of kingcraft to gain his 
 ends. Success depended chiefly on the gaining over 
 of the powerful Zealot faction. For that purpose he 
 had come in person to Jerusalem. Negotiations had 
 long been carried on by means of safe messengers. 
 But when the time came for final pledges, those leaders 
 of the Zealots who had been found amenable to suasion 
 or bribe would accept no mediator. 
 
 While he lay at the house of Shealtiel, therefore, 
 those leaders were brought separately to him, and he 
 entered into pledges with them, plucking off his shoe 
 according to ancient custom. 
 
 Two days these cautious transactions absorbed his 
 waking hours. 
 
 The third day, in the hot hush of noon, he lay sleep- 
 ing. An upper chamber, long disused, to which clung 
 some faint tradition of King Alexander Janneus, had 
 been cleansed, swept, and adorned for the prince. He 
 reclined upon a raised couch against the wall. Phaleon 
 slumbered near him on a soft grass-mat. 
 
 A slave-boy whose task it was to keep the hanging- 
 fan of peacock plumes astir above their heads, had also 
 yielded to the drowsy influence of the heat. He 
 drooped upon his knees with closed eyelids, the fan- 
 string slack between his fingers. 
 
 Flies hummed over the half-naked bodies of the 
 sleepers. 
 
 Silence covered like a blanket all the great house of 
 Shealtiel. The dogs in the court, the animals in the
 
 64, THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 stable, were quiet. There was audible only the whimper 
 of a restless child in the women's quarters or gynaeceum y 
 at the other end of the stone corridor. 
 
 Through this silence grew the faint rustle of a gar- 
 ment at the doorway of Hyrcanus's chamber. 
 
 The tiny noise may have caused Hyrcanus partly 
 to awake. He, whose life hung always suspended as 
 over a gulf, had learned to sleep lightly. His eyes 
 opened. 
 
 Was it a vision that appeared before him? There 
 stood the slender maid that he had met in the dusk at 
 the Pool of Siloam! She had mingled in his dreams, 
 so that this seemed but a more vivid transition of dream- 
 ing. 
 
 She wore her coarse blue mantle still, but now, in- 
 stead of a pitcher, held in her hand a pair of small 
 leather-thonged sandals of palm-leaf, as though she 
 had slipped them from her feet to walk more lightly. 
 She pressed her finger to her lip, while her eyes, dark- 
 ened, enlarged, and sparkling from fright, searched 
 his tranced face. 
 
 A moment longer he continued to gaze, doubtful of 
 his senses, while the figure, changing from its poise of 
 dread, glided into a recess or narrow nook behind a 
 corner of the massive limestone wall. 
 
 Hyrcanus flung off sleep like a weight. He leaped 
 over Phaleon's recumbent limbs, and with a shout 
 hurled himself into the recess where the vision had 
 vanished. 
 
 He struck against the solid stones. The shock
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 65 
 
 brought him fully awake, and he recoiled, dazed and 
 bewildered, rubbing his eyes. 
 
 Phaleon scrambled up from his mat with exclama- 
 tions. The little slave flung about a guilt-stricken 
 face of wonder and instantly began to agitate the fan. 
 
 " Saw ye not ! " cried Hyrcanus. " She stood before 
 me! By God's splendour! Even now here in this 
 spot she stood before me like a lamp ! " 
 
 " Domino, Ditis! Who ! " 
 
 " That little maid of Siloam concerning whom I 
 have oft talked with thee! Plain as this hand I saw 
 her here ! And thou ? " 
 
 " Nay, I slept ! But whither then is she gone ? " 
 
 " As I sprang up, she vanished into the wall 
 there!" 
 
 Phaleon checked an unwise impulse to laugh. 
 
 " Thou hast had a vision ! " 
 
 " And thou ? " Hyrcanus demanded of the slave- 
 boy. 
 
 " Master, I have remained diligently awake plying 
 my fan the while thou sleptest, and naught hath entered 
 at the door." 
 
 " Thou liest ! " exclaimed Hyrcanus. 
 
 The boy prostrated himself weeping. 
 
 ** Not an eyelid have I shut, Master ! nay, not so 
 much as to wink ! " 
 
 " It may have been a dream," muttered the prince, 
 passing a dubious hand across his forehead. *' Yet an- 
 other dream like unto this have I never had! Here she 
 stood, my Phaleon, clear as I see thee now, her
 
 66 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 finger thus, her sandals in her hand, her eyes wide. 
 ... As I live, I saw her very bosom's rise and 
 fall!" 
 
 " Hercule, this is no common dream ! " said Phaleon. 
 " Thou hast been visited by a familiar spirit, even as 
 thy great ancestor Alexander Janneus. Let us sum- 
 mon my sister Bernice. Her wit will unriddle thee this 
 portent as an old wife untangles a slcein of wool. A 
 gay laughing maid and singeth like a selav, yet hath 
 she at times a gift, a power of soothsaying gods ! I 
 know not what . . ." 
 
 " Bid her come," said Hyrcanus sullenly. 
 He sat upon the couch and held his head between 
 his hands. 
 
 The slave-boy, sent to the gynaeceum, returned after 
 delay saying that old Kedemah had posted herself be- 
 tween the curtains and given him the Lady Bernice's 
 positive refusal to appear. 
 
 " Unclean little beast ! " exclaimed Phaleon. " Thou 
 hast wrongly worded my message ! Were it not so hot, 
 I'd beat thee ! Go again saying that her father's guest, 
 her cousin of Antioch, desireth of her the interpretation 
 of a dream." And to Hyrcanus, to remove the un- 
 favourable effect, " She hath a playful perversity with 
 me, who am her brother. She meaneth but sport in 
 crossing my purposes ever." 
 
 Again came the slave with the same reply. He had 
 not even been admitted to see her. 
 
 "By Pluto, I will go myself!" cried Phaleon, 
 springing up in anger. " Her father shall compel her 
 to obey my commands ! "
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 67 
 
 " Peace ! " muttered Hyrcanus with indifference. 
 " Leave her alone ! It is naught ! " 
 
 In the court below began at that moment a hideous 
 braying, mingled with camel-squeals and the barking of 
 dogs. Then sounded loud rapid whacks of a stick and 
 a strident human voice, 
 
 " Esau ! hill of bones ! miserable mountain of 
 hair! Thou coverest me with shame as ashes! How 
 hast thou wrought folly in the gate! O eater of dust! 
 Up! Likenest thyself unto a dungheap? Up! Up! 
 What! Refusest? Barest wickedly thy yellow teeth? 
 And at thy master? What camel of Gerasa hath been 
 loved like unto thee ! Ask from one side of heaven unto 
 the other! Esau! Rebellious one! How have I 
 cherished a monster in my bosom ! " 
 
 Phaleon, who had stepped out on the upper porch 
 to see, returned laughing. 
 
 " A camel, heavy laden, hath encountered a string of 
 asses in the gate and lain down. Hear thou its driver! 
 He is one Nadab, crack-brained but carrying both 
 wit and folly in his skull like vinegar and oil in a 
 dish of lettuces. Amongst other trades he divineth 
 dreams." 
 
 Hyrcanus brightened. 
 
 " Bring me this diviner of dreams ! " 
 
 Being summoned, Nadab, who had taught his camel 
 more tricks than the public suspected, soon persuaded 
 the animal to find its feet, extricated it from the con- 
 fusion, and led it to the stable. 
 
 He came then up into the house with his faded bur- 
 noose tucked in his leather girdle.
 
 68 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 As he entered the chamber his quick odd eyes danced 
 under his black tangle of horselike hair. He put on 
 a great show of awe at the splendid surroundings, 
 cast himself upon his face before the couch, and caused 
 his limbs visibly to tremble. 
 
 " Lo now, O diviner of dreams, vates, animus 
 divinans,'* said Phaleon stirring him carelessly with 
 the toe of his slipper. " Thou to whom all darkness 
 is day, or at worst twilight, here sitteth my cousin 
 of Antioch, who hath had a vision." 
 
 The camel-driver writhed before Hyrcanus in well- 
 simulated terror. 
 
 " Alas ! " he groaned. " Even as I beheld thy cousin 
 of Antioch, appeared before mine eyes red waves as 
 it were blood, quick tossings and foamings like unto a 
 tempest on Gennesaret. On those waves floated a chair 
 adorned with sapphires, glorious with rubies, and be- 
 neath the chair broken fasces and a drowned eagle. 
 Much troubled in spirit I cast myself down, for I per- 
 ceive this cousin of thine of Antioch to be no common 
 person." 
 
 The young men looked at one another amazed. 
 Finally Hyrcanus spoke. 
 
 " A most cunning liar art thou or a great sooth- 
 sayer. What thou claimest to have perceived nay, 
 leave it unsaid! I would have thee only to divine my 
 dream." 
 
 Nadab lifted his upper parts and squatted on his 
 heels. 
 
 " Tell thou the dream, lord."
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 69 
 
 As he listened to the narrative, his swarthy features 
 lengthened portentously. When it concluded, 
 
 " O Master," said he, " this is indeed a wondrous 
 dream, and the interpretation thereof I may tell into 
 no ear save thine ear alone." 
 
 " Nay, then, I go, vado! " said Phaleon and went 
 out, followed by the slave. 
 
 The camel-driver went to the doorway, listened a 
 while to the departing footsteps, came again with an 
 air of mystery, and squatted before Hyrcanus. His 
 actions were designed to awe and impress the prince. 
 
 But although it was a credulous age, Hyrcanus was 
 no novice as to the wiles of tricksters. A threatening 
 look darkened his brow. 
 
 " O rash diviner of dreams," said he, " if thou be 
 not that thou seemest, the fingers of death are even now 
 catching at thy hair." 
 
 Nadab was a man of ready wits, bold and adroit. 
 He smiled, with teeth agleam, tossing back his tangle 
 of hair, to demonstrate his care-free innocence. 
 
 " Judge thou ! Nay, I foresee how my lord will 
 throw his servant a gold aureus on learning the inter- 
 pretation of his dream." 
 
 " Say on. Fear not for thy reward." 
 
 " O favourite of beautiful women, the vision was 
 indeed thy familiar spirit. For that she seemed to 
 wait, a lady awaiteth thee with longing. For that 
 she held her finger on her lip, she enjoineth secrecy 
 in the matter. For that her gown was of blue, edged 
 with red, which together do make purple, she is of
 
 70 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 royal birth, yea, a king's daughter, or perchance a 
 queen's. Her gown appearing of poor quality, she 
 lacketh somewhat, nay, she lacketh thy love, and de- 
 sireth it greatly. Her house-sandals of palm-leaf be- 
 ing in her hand . . . lo, she awaiteth thee not on 
 common ground but in a place of royal palms. Why 
 not the King's Paradise? " 
 
 A moment Hyrcanus sat in deep reflection, his eyes 
 narrowed to slits, through which he studied keenly the 
 camel-driver's face. 
 
 " Beyond a doubt thou meanest the daughter of Hero- 
 dias." 
 
 " She doth in very truth visit Jerusalem for the 
 Feast of Trumpets ! " cried Nadab with a face of sur- 
 prised simplicity. 
 
 " There hath been assigned unto her for a lodging 
 the Tower of PhasaJus in the garden of the king's pal- 
 ace." 
 
 " As in a mirror thou mayest see it ! How art thou 
 blest!" 
 
 " Bearer of messages from the Lady Salome, how 
 knowest thou me?" 
 
 " I know thee ? Nay, hath not the Lord Phaleon 
 told me saying that thou wert his cousin of Antioch? " 
 
 He bowed meekly, smiling in his sleeve. But he over- 
 estimated the credulity of the prince. Hyrcanus 
 pounced leopard-like upon him, seized him by the fore- 
 lock, and pressed the sharp dagger-point against the 
 hollow of his throat. 
 
 " Say how thou knewest me ! A lie is thine instant 
 death!"
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 71 
 
 " O mighty prince, spare me ! I will speak ! " 
 
 " Say quickly then, ere thy heart may forge new 
 lies." 
 
 In real fear and trembling now, the camel-driver 
 spoke. 
 
 " I, Nadab, do travel with mine Esau from Dan even 
 unto Beersheba. Everywhere am I a picker-up of tales, 
 of marvels, of new things, of happenings both great and 
 small, which one that travelleth on the roads may hear 
 at the khans and wayside wells. How could I not know 
 concerning thy face, thy stature, thy manner of speech, 
 O Prince, of whom the whole land is filled with rumours ! 
 Nay, even thyself have I looked upon ere now." 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " Last year in the month Tammuz we did venture into 
 the wilderness of Perea, I and Esau, journeying with 
 a load of botnim nuts and oil unto Zoroa. And at Sal- 
 cah, whilst there we lay for the night, thou and Barab- 
 bas did attack and burn the town." 
 
 " Yea, I remember. The inhabitants had stoned to 
 death two messengers of ours." 
 
 " Barabbas did order all the captives slain, I and 
 Esau being amongst the number. But thou, lord, didst 
 spare our life." 
 
 "Wherefore did I?" 
 
 " Thou didst need a messenger to bear letters to 
 Bostra, and didst choose out me and Esau. Thus were 
 we spared to be thy slave and debtor forever ! " 
 
 " Hast thou whereby to signify that thou truly comest 
 from the daughter of Herodias ? " 
 
 Nadab drew from the unsightly folds of his burnoose
 
 72 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 a scarab ring of peculiar Sidonian design bearing the 
 royal seal of the house of Trachonitis. 
 
 " She sendeth my lord this." 
 
 Hyrcanus released the man and sat a while silent 
 looking at the ring. 
 
 " Wisely hast thou done," said he at last, " to gain 
 mine ear in private on this matter. Here beneath mine 
 eye shalt thou remain until nightfall, when I will accom- 
 pany thee. But breathe so much as a whisper of this, 
 and by my father's head I will pluck thee out of thy 
 skin!"
 
 VII 
 
 AT the eastern end of the paradise or king's gar- 
 den, within the walled precincts of Herod's long- 
 deserted palace on Zion, stood the Tower of 
 Phasselus. 
 
 This tower, wellnigh a complete palace in itself, had 
 been assigned by the government to the Princess Salome 
 during her sojourn at Jerusalem. Here dwelt tempora- 
 rily the beautiful wanton young widow of Philip, late 
 Tetrarch of Trachonitis, attended by her army of slaves 
 and guards. 
 
 The old moon, near its death, was not yet risen. 
 The tower loomed dark under the jewelled Judean sky. 
 Among clumps of fronded palms, pomegranates, and 
 figs, in the forbidden grounds of the paradise, impene- 
 trable blackness brooded. 
 
 Watchmen in the city streets were calling the hour 
 in long-drawn cries that evoked the barking of dogs, 
 when two men came swiftly and softly to a little postern- 
 door at the base of the Tower of Phasaelus. They 
 were wrapped to the mouth in their mantles against 
 the cold night-air. 
 
 The shorter of the two knocked. 
 
 A grille in the door slid open. A broad shiny Nubian 
 face peered out through the iron lattice in a gush of 
 ruddy light. 
 
 73
 
 74 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 "Who knocketh?" 
 
 " O noble Abaddon, unbar the door ! It is Nadab, 
 thy poor friend who brought thee the salve for thy sore 
 eye. Nadab it is, the humblest and most industrious of 
 Salome's servants ! Make haste, thou heaven-scraping 
 citadel of ebony, the night is cold ! " 
 
 " Not so fast, camel-driver ! Thy salve, although of 
 the poorest, hath not yet blinded me ! One lurketh by 
 the wall so muffled in his cloak I see scarce more than 
 his glittering eyes. Who is that one ? " 
 
 " Why loiter to inquire ? Seest thou not this ring 
 which I hold against thy sooty nose ? " 
 
 Unfastening many bars and chains the huge eunuch 
 swung open the door and stood grinning on the thresh- 
 hold. His left hand lifted high a perforated square 
 lantern to cast its ruddy rays over both visitors ; his 
 right held ready a curved sword, on whose broad bright 
 steel the wind-shaken flame flickered. 
 
 " By my fathers' idols ! " he muttered with a curiosity 
 at once jocose and formidable. " What art thou, O 
 crooked little creature called Nadab ! A score of times 
 hath the princess sent her women asking if thou be yet 
 come ! Thy delay hath kindled in her a fever. Thrice 
 have I been summoned to beat before her a tiring-woman 
 or two, to assuage her humour. I would give this thumb 
 to know what she seeketh of thee, thou thing of hump 
 and hair, thou dwarfish camel ! " 
 
 " Camels do oft bear gold, my good Abaddon." 
 
 " Gold ? thou ! Place thou straightway a sample 
 of thy gold in this palm ! " 
 
 " Nay, I bring more precious than gold, I bring
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 75 
 
 love. What use makest thou of love, dark shadow of 
 man!" 
 
 " Enter ! " exclaimed the black. 
 
 Nadab and that other muffled one who accompanied 
 him entered a narrow passageway from which a flight of 
 back-stairs ran up to the nobler portions of the tower. 
 
 The eunuch stretched out his sword to strike a red 
 copper disc that hung upon the wall. But Nadab, start- 
 ing at an angered gesture of his silent companion, 
 cried, 
 
 " Stay ! Summon no one ! She awaiteth us, thou 
 knowest ! " 
 
 The two then went quickly up the staircase into a 
 marble outer-chamber half Grecian in design. On the 
 Mosaic pavement a woman who had been recently flogged 
 lay weeping, with dishevelled hair and blood-stained 
 garment. The whip of knotted cords, flung down, re- 
 mained beside her. Over her on the white wall burned 
 three candles in a bronze sconce. She hearing the ap- 
 proach of feet stifled her sobs a moment and lifted her 
 tear-smeared face shadowed by her hair. 
 
 " Thou seest, lord," whispered Nadab laughing si- 
 lently, " with what impatience Salome doth await news 
 of thee ! " 
 
 A heavy curtain of Tyrian purple that extended from 
 ceiling to floor closed the farther end of the chamber. 
 The stiff silken folds rubbed and hissed softly on a 
 draught of air. 
 
 As the two visitors were advancing, the curtain sud- 
 denly parted. The daughter of Herodias rushed out 
 upon them with a startling fierce swiftness.
 
 76 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 The encounter was as unexpected by Salome as the 
 others. Her lithe body recoiled. Her clinging robe 
 of pale topaz yellow settled into lines of statuesque grace 
 about her superb limbs, against the purple background. 
 For a moment she stood poised, while petals of blue lotos 
 buds in her hair, loosened by the abrupt arrest of mo- 
 tion, fell down in a little shower. 
 
 Her burning excited eyes flashed a challenge. 
 
 " So ! " she breathed. 
 
 No trace of alarm showed on her dark oval face. 
 The armed guards, indeed, held the main staircase just 
 beyond ; a faint clashing of metal was audible as they 
 moved about below. 
 
 Nadab prostrated himself at her feet. 
 
 " Thou hast finally then seen fit to return," said Sa- 
 lome in a voice deepened by wrath. " Ere the cool of 
 the day wast thou to have thy message in my hands. 
 Instead of a silver mina thou shalt receive thirty stripes, 
 one for each shekel. Abaddon shall beat upon thy 
 skin as on a drum ! " 
 
 " O fair moon of the paradise ! " groaned Nadab 
 wriggling his shoulders. " great cistern of kings' 
 loves ! Silver minae will pour from thy white hand upon 
 thy poor servant as the latter rain upon En-gedi when 
 thou nearest my story ! " 
 
 Salome's splendid angry eyes flickered over the other 
 man. 
 
 " And this one that deigneth not so much as to bend 
 before me ! By what name art thou called ? " 
 
 But even as she asked, expectation quickened her 
 features. She started slightly, looked again, then
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 77 
 
 breathed a little dubious laugh like the first low notes of 
 the Syrian nightingale. 
 
 " Can this thing be ! " she murmured. 
 
 The man lifted aside his enshrouding cloak and dis- 
 closed the dark face of Hyrcanus. 
 
 A swift pallor swept Salome's cheeks, followed by a 
 rise of colour. 
 
 " Thou art bold beyond all foretelling ! " she said 
 softly. " I looked but for a message." 
 
 " Into lesser hands I might not entrust a message so 
 precious." 
 
 "Thou dost not fear?" 
 
 " Zeal swallows up discretion." 
 
 Half tauntingly, as if to challenge his courage, she 
 swept apart the purple curtain, inviting him to enter. 
 
 They passed in. 
 
 The heavy folds of silk fell behind them like a hissing 
 of serpents and hid them from Nadab and the sobbing 
 slave- woman. 
 
 Hyrcanus followed Salome to a small inner chamber 
 or cabinet embellished with those forbidden images in 
 which Herod's artistic fancy, always pagan and Grecian, 
 had rioted. She sank upon an ivory couch, stretched 
 her smooth limbs slowly along cushions of swan's-down, 
 and gazed upon him with sly luring eyes. 
 
 " O rash Hyrcanus ! " she murmured, and smiled. 
 She was silent a moment, and again, " O bold Hyrcanus 
 ... In thine own person thou didst come to me ! 
 But so thou makest war ever, striking swiftly, like the 
 eagle, ere thine enemy may prepare." 
 
 Between Salome and the outlawed claimant of the
 
 78 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 Judean crown had formerly passed secret overtures 
 which hitherto had come to naught because of mutual 
 distrust. It was an era of glorified treachery and as- 
 sassination which was called statecraft. Hyrcanus 
 knew well that in entering Salome's cabinet he risked 
 being set upon and stabbed by concealed swordsmen. 
 For that reason he put his back against the nearest 
 wall. A consciousness of hidden peril dilated his nos- 
 tril and kindled his eye. 
 
 " Art thou one of those enemies? " he inquired. 
 
 Observing the alert poise of that stern head, the 
 wanton daughter of Herodias cast her sly looks and 
 smiles upon his martial comeliness in a more and more 
 inviting manner. 
 
 " Why f earest thou me, Hyrcanus ? " 
 
 " Beauty such as Salome's is more ruinous than a lost 
 battle." 
 
 " Not my beauty thou f earest, sweet-tongued 
 speaker ! it is mine armed men that guard the stair- 
 case." 
 
 " I fear them not at all," he answered calmly ; " for 
 I hold as in the hollow of my hand a pledge of peace." 
 He flung back his cloak to show the steel corselet on 
 his breast and the short heavy Roman sword at his 
 thigh. " Thou are my pledge, beautiful Salome." 
 
 Her low laughter like a pleasant ripple of waters 
 played against the grim threat. 
 
 " I perceive with joy thou art not altogether reck- 
 less, my Hyrcanus. But if thou imaginest peril await- 
 ing thee in this house, wherefore didst thou venture 
 in? "
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 79 
 
 " Who would not outbrave death itself to gaze on 
 her of whose beauty the whole world rings ! " 
 
 " Alas, thou findest it to ring false like a cracked 
 shufa. Thou standest there against the wall, poor de- 
 ceived one, stiff and cold from disappointment." 
 
 " Nay, I am awed, as one beholding Jerusalem set 
 about with banners for the great Feast." 
 
 Again she laughed softly. Her magnificent sinful 
 eyes continually lured him. 
 
 " Thy tongue is as the first serpent's for sweetness," 
 she retorted. " Yet will I never believe that this poor 
 face alone drew thee. O Hyrcanus, thou art not alto- 
 gether foolish. Too long hast thou dwelt, a hungry 
 lion, on the borders of Gaulinitis and Galilee. Too 
 oft hast thou slipped with blood-dripping jaws between 
 the closing bands of Antipas and Philip ! nay, verily, 
 I know thee to be bold and clever. Speak! What 
 brought thee? " 
 
 But he, guarded as herself in this diplomatic fencing: 
 
 " Thou didst express a desire to behold me, O fair 
 daughter of Herodias, and I have come." 
 
 " Close-mouthed art thou, wise Hyrcanus, for all 
 thy pretty speeches. Shall I tell thee wherefore thou 
 didst come ? " She leaned forward, holding him with 
 her artful eyes. " Thou didst say to thyself, * This 
 daughter of Herodias, of whom I have heard that she 
 maketh certain slight claims to beauty, who indeed 
 may be indifferent fair ' nay, most like thou didst 
 unpack the bitterness of thy heart in harsh words say- 
 ing, * This accursed meddling widow of Philip hath 
 discovered that I lie hid thus in Jerusalem, and hath
 
 80 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 me as in a net, for if she drop a word in the ear of 
 Annas or the Roman, I am surely lost ! ' So saying thou 
 didst drag thyself sorrowfully hither judging of two 
 deaths this the less painful." 
 
 Hyrcanus smiled. 
 
 " A most sweet death ! " said he. " O Salome, partly 
 hast thou guessed my mind. I said, ' This fairest of 
 women, knowing my hiding-place, held a knife at my 
 heart. Yet did she not slay, but summoneth me unto 
 her instead. What then must I believe? That she 
 hath evil designs against me ? Nay ! ' And so I came 
 joyfully, perceiving thy goodwill." 
 
 Silent a while, Salome stirred a golden-thonged san- 
 dal among the piled cushions. 
 
 "Thou hast judged rightly, O Hyrcanus, eagle- 
 sighted Asmonean." After another pause, with a sigh, 
 "Thou hast judged well. I am not thine enemy; 
 nay, if all thine enemies were as I, thou mightest even 
 now be seated on the throne of thy fathers, the glory 
 of the world ! " Then after yet another pause, trifling 
 womanlike with her purpose, " Mayest thou not discern, 
 my Hyrcanus, why I am not thine enemy? " 
 
 " How may I comprehend it ! Art thou not of the 
 house of my enemies ! Doth not the Tetrarch Antipas, 
 thy mother's husband, wage war against me! Yea, 
 doth he not, spurred on by ambition, seek eagerly this 
 Judean crown at Caesar's hands ? " 
 
 " And what if my mother's daughter seek also a 
 crown ? " she breathed softly, smiling a faint smile 
 askance. 
 
 She had revealed the purpose of her overtures.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 81 
 
 Salome with all her wealth, rank, and beauty, faced 
 as the widow of Philip only a closed career. Her 
 glory was eclipsed, her power departed. A dependent 
 now of royal kinsmen, a hanger-on of others' courts, 
 what more natural than that her imperious spirit should 
 disdain such a fate and attempt a perilous but loftier 
 goal! 
 
 This Hyrcanus had long half-surmised; but at her 
 confession his eyes flashed, he strode a step nearer her. 
 
 " Sayest thou so, Salome! Wouldst thou join 
 strengths with me, thou of the ruling Herodian line, 
 I an outlaw of the desert ! " 
 
 " That Herodian line declineth toward eternal night, 
 I fear," she said slowly, and looked down. " Archelaus 
 banished to cold Gothic wilds, Agrippa a fugitive from 
 debt crouching in Caesar's train, Antipas holding shakily 
 a cupful of that great sea of men his father's sceptre 
 ruled, is it not doomed ! . . . And here in Jerusalem 
 the marble palace of Herod, empty, waiteth and waiteth 
 the coming of its new king. . . . Who will be that king? 
 Who will grasp the glory and the power? One of the 
 soft Herodian sons ? Nay, but a man ! " 
 
 Hyrcanus sank on his knee beside her and seized her 
 hands in his. 
 
 " That man," cried he, " will be twice a man if he 
 have such a woman as thou beside him ! " 
 
 She leaned forward; her warm breath played on his 
 forehead; the faint sweet odour of lotos buds crept 
 about his face. 
 
 " Such a man I saw once," she murmured. " It was 
 at Scythopolis. In the tower over the gate sat the Te-
 
 82 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 trarchs Antipas and Philip among their women and 
 watched afar the smoke of burning and battle. Mes- 
 sengers came with furious speed and shouts of victory. 
 The Tetrarchs called for wine ; the city-walls rocked 
 with the rejoicings. And then I know not to this 
 hour how it came about, they had said Hyrcanus was 
 entrapped, suddenly arose a great outcry, a rush- 
 ing as it were a storm of dust, in the dust flashes of 
 steel from headpieces, spears, shields, and swords, 
 riderless horses galloping and neighing, men who had 
 flung away their arms, screaming in terror. And over 
 them poured a dark torrent of riders trampling and 
 hewing even to the gate ; and one who perceived the 
 Tetrarchs amongst the women over the gate rode under 
 the walls and taunted them. Then, my Hyrcanus, then 
 it was I saw . . ." Her fragrant head sank lower; the 
 long black lashes curtained her eyes of soft lambent 
 flame ; her full-orbed bosom rose and fell rapidly with 
 signs of confused passionate feeling. But as he 
 reached eagerly to embrace her, " Nay, not so ! " she 
 laughed swaying backward. 
 
 " Thou shalt be my queen ! " he cried. " By God's 
 splendour, I will drive out these Roman dogs, every one 
 with his tail betwixt his hinder parts ! Here will I 
 build thee a kingdom that will stretch from the sun's 
 rising unto his setting! The whole earth shall fall 
 down and kiss thy sandal ! They shall blow away the 
 dust from before thee ! May fire consume me if I seat 
 thee not on a throne of pure gold ! " 
 
 " Big words speakest thou ! " she taunted. Her
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 83 
 
 magic eyes drew him on while her soft perfumed palms 
 pushed away his too impetuous lips. 
 
 " Because my heart is big," he boasted. " Crucify 
 me if I do not make Cassar bow down and tie thy shoe- 
 latchets ! For thy love will I do this thing ! " 
 
 " Perjured talker ! Yet thus would I be wooed ! Be- 
 hind thee as thou speakest I seem to hear a crash of 
 falling towers, in thine eyes so near, I see a flame of 
 burning towns. Thou rushest on me like a world- 
 fire. . . ." Of a sudden her mood changed. She hov- 
 ered over him in fanciful alarm. " Ah, my love, hast 
 thou considered what dangers assail thee enmeshed 
 in the walled city of thy foes ! A slave's whisper in 
 the ear of Annas . . ." 
 
 " Fear not," he answered. " Daily I bind unto me 
 by bribes and promises the leaders of the Zealots. Soon, 
 soon out of the east shall descend a flood of horsemen. 
 Then shall the multitude rise against the hated Ro- 
 man . . ." 
 
 But still she shook her head. 
 
 " Nay, I like it not ! Thou perilest too much thine 
 own life as if it were a common man's. Oh, that I 
 might guard thy head ! " She removed from her throat 
 a golden chain and peculiar amethyst stone and flung it, 
 still warm, about his neck. " Lo, my Hyrcanus ! This 
 is my sleep-stone, a potent charm. It cometh out of 
 Egypt. Now promise me if peril seem to threaten 
 thee either by day or night, thou wilt straightway send 
 unto me this token by a swift and sure messenger! 
 Two hundred Trachonitian spearsmen attend me, every
 
 84 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 one a picked man of war having spear and sword and 
 harness. Like a new Semiramis will I muster my war- 
 riors and rush to thine aid ! " 
 
 " Small need, my love, of such a deed of war by these 
 tender hands that can scarce lift a sword." 
 
 " Nay, but promise ! " 
 
 "Why promise when the hour is almost at hand?" 
 
 " Promise, that I may sleep ! " 
 
 " Yea, then, J promise. But what need of these 
 fears! The time is ripe. The city will fall into my 
 lap as an apple in due season. Everywhere the multi- 
 tude crieth for change. At a rallying-cry the rabble 
 will rise in the streets to stone their rulers. Why, the 
 stars in their high courses fight for me! All things 
 cry change ! " 
 
 Salome's splendid guilty eyes fixed a moment on re- 
 mote distance. A shudder passed over her and was 
 gone. 
 
 " Thou speakest truth," she said slowly. " All 
 things cry change. Dead prophets cry it from the 
 dust. ... I seem but now to see rising out of the 
 ground the dark head of that fierce leader of the popu- 
 lace, who assailed my mother ! John was he called . . ." 
 She breathed more deeply. " There is a new thing 
 I know not how to phrase it ! a new thing coming 
 on the world, vast, dreadful, shaking the pillars of 
 the temples and the thrones of kings ! . . . I grow cold ! 
 Warm me with thy lips ! " 
 
 Their lips met and clung. 
 
 In the quiet was heard at first only a faint clashing 
 of armour on the outer staircase, where the armed men
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 85 
 
 stood. Then out of the night rushed a sudden strong 
 wind which shook the thick-walled tower to its founda- 
 tions, and all the casements and lattices rattled. 
 
 The wind passed on into the night, and again all was 
 silent.
 
 VIII 
 
 AS Hyrcanus had planned his uprising for the 
 Fastday of Gedaliah, which would occur soon 
 after the new moon of Tishri, he lost no op- 
 portunity meantime to examine the Roman military 
 posts in the Upper and Lower Cities. 
 
 For this purpose he went about the streets, accom- 
 panied by Phaleon. The two young men, attired as 
 Phoenician sea-traders, well hooded, were, for precau- 
 tion's sake, followed at some distance by half a dozen 
 Zealots, all bearing swords under their garments. 
 
 They accomplished this adventure several times with- 
 out mishap. 
 
 On the last day of Elul, as they returned through 
 the noisy crowded marketplace, Hyrcanus suddenly and 
 mysteriously disappeared. Phaleon, who was thread- 
 ing a passage among the fruit-stalls, turned, thinking 
 the prince at his heels, and found him not. 
 
 " Extdbuit barbarus! " muttered the youth. He be- 
 gan to gaze about as if idly. " Hath some thief popped 
 him into a melon-sack ? " 
 
 It was already sunset. Under the yellow afterglow 
 the noise and energy of the traffickers had increased. 
 An old hag thrust sweet oranges of Michmash under 
 Phaleon's nose. A boy darted from beneath a crimson- 
 striped awning to scream at him the virtues of black 
 
 86
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 87 
 
 dates of Jericho. Water-carriers beat their brass discs. 
 Beggars howled and wailed for alms. 
 
 But Hyrcanus was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 Came presently the six Zealots shouldering through 
 the crowd. Phaleon gave a covert sign expressive of 
 his loss. They understood and quickly scattered 
 through the marketplace. But after a while they came 
 back one by one, shaking their heads. 
 
 Alarm had begun to take hold of them. 
 
 " We dare not return with this tale," whispered Pha- 
 leon. " Barabbas will tear our throats ! I am cold with 
 fear! Hiems letalis in pectoral What folly is this! 
 Could the Pharisees lay hold on him in the very market- 
 place ! could they lead him off as in a bridle, without 
 an outcry ! Look again, more sharply ! " 
 
 They pushed the search through the market-stands, 
 shops, and near-by streets, but in vain. 
 
 It became night. The market was emptied by degrees 
 of its buyers and sellers. Pariah dogs prowled with 
 savage sounds among the refuse. 
 
 At last Phaleon conceived the desperate hope that the 
 prince might have gone home by another way. With 
 that, he set off running, and arrived breathless at his 
 father's gate. 
 
 Some rumour of the disaster seemed already to have 
 penetrated Shealtiel's house. A row of women's heads 
 peered down from the housetop. The gate stood open. 
 In the court lanterns flitted to and fro like fireflies. A 
 confused clutter of voices and running feet pervaded 
 the gloom of the porches. 
 
 As Phaleon rushed in through the archway from the
 
 88 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 porter's lodge, he was pounced upon by his father and 
 Barabbas. 
 
 " Comest thou alone ! What of Hyrcanus ! " 
 
 " Hath he not returned alone ! " stammered the youth. 
 
 " Where was he lost, fool ! Speak ! " 
 
 " As we came through the marketplace, amongst the 
 fruit stalls, I leading, he vanished as into water ! We 
 raked the crowds, the shops, the streets and by-ways. 
 It was as if we hunted for a wind in a field ! And you? " 
 
 " We were sending forth in search." 
 
 " Crucify me ! " roared Barabbas, crushing suddenly 
 the pale city-youth in his powerful hands and shaking 
 him. " Crucify me like a slave, if I believe not thou 
 hast sold him unto Annas ! " 
 
 " Thou liest, robber," said Phaleon sullenly, helpless 
 in that grasp. " If he be sold, it is thou hast sold him." 
 
 " Peace ! Peace ! " Shealtiel implored, straining to 
 part them. " Waste not the precious moments in vain 
 dispute! If Hyrcanus be taken, so are we all lost! 
 But still is hope! He may but have strayed! I will 
 send out . . ." 
 
 " Ho ! Lanterns ! " thundered Barabbas with oaths. 
 " I will myself go ! Fat dogs of the town ! what 
 know ye of hunting ! " 
 
 Hither and thither swarmed the servants, bringing 
 lanterns, swords, staves. Meanwhile the gate stood 
 open. And amidst the hurried preparations someone 
 rushed in through the covered passage from the outer 
 darkness. 
 
 The tossing lantern-gleams revealed the figure of Hyr- 
 canus with torn mud-soiled cloak and dishevelled hair.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 89 
 
 He stopped and leaned against a stone pillar, labouring 
 hard for breath. His eyes flamed in his head like coals. 
 The netted veins on his forehead stood out black and 
 swollen. 
 
 Barabbas perceiving him in this disordered guise as 
 if pursued, leaped out to discover what danger pressed. 
 
 The walled narrow street was deserted. 
 
 " How, Master ! " growled the robber, re-entering. 
 " Fleest thou ! and none pursueth ! " 
 
 " Thou art safe and alive ! " exclaimed Shealtiel. 
 " We thought thee taken, perhaps slain ! " 
 
 Young Phaleon came and felt of the prince's body 
 like one doubtful of his own senses. 
 
 " What a fright thou hast given me ! Bacche! I 
 was as one dead in the tomb ! " 
 
 " I have beheld her again ! " cried Hyrcanus hoarsely. 
 " By the face of God, I saw and followed her ! " 
 
 They looked at one another, uncomprehending, in 
 silence. He noticing their astonishment stamped his 
 foot and glared about. 
 
 " I tell you and ye believe not ! " he cried further, 
 more passionately. " I saw and followed her. I have 
 marked the house. Yea, I too would have entered, but 
 they barred the door against me. Then would I have 
 climbed over the wall. But the wall was high, and those 
 that looked down from the housetops round about 
 mocked me ! they cast down stones upon me. And 
 at last I fell." 
 
 " What may this mean ? " they whispered, inquiring 
 of each other. " Whom hath he followed ? He speak- 
 eth of some woman. What woman saw he ! "
 
 90 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 Then Barabbas bluntly : " Master, art thou pos- 
 sessed of a devil? " 
 
 Phaleon drew his father aside: 
 
 " It is that one of whom he oft converseth with me 
 in private. He saw her by the Pool of Siloam. She 
 hath bewitched him ! Nos defenset Venus! I know 
 not if she be true flesh and blood or an apparition of 
 the air. He hath strange visions of her. Almost he 
 believeth her to be his familiar spirit. As we go about 
 the streets, ever he seeketh her amid the crowds, ever 
 he scanneth the faces. He hath, I do fear, a kind of 
 madness." 
 
 " Nay, it is in that blood," muttered Shealtiel un- 
 easily. 
 
 As they all yet stood in wonder, 
 
 " Phaleon, come hither ! " cried the prince. " I did 
 but return to seek thine aid that I may clamber over 
 the wall. I will find her to-night! Yea, though I 
 pull that house asunder stone by stone! May the fires 
 of Tophet consume me if I do not ! Come ! " He 
 seized the youth's wrist and dragged him towards the 
 gate. " Thou shalt aid me to climb the wall ! " 
 
 Phaleon protested: 
 
 " The moon is not up. How mayest thou find the 
 house again in darkness ! " 
 
 " Not find the house, fool ! Can I find my thumb ! 
 Why loiterest thou ! " 
 
 Hyrcanus continued to drag him with a grip of iron. 
 The heat and hurry of the prince's countenance seemed 
 about to flame forth into ungovernable rage. It was 
 not safe to refuse him. Neither Shealtiel nor even the
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 91 
 
 rude Barabbas saw fit to cross him in his distracted 
 mood. 
 
 The young men were suffered to go forth unhindered, 
 although Shealtiel to insure their safety despatched 
 after them some eight or nine stout servants armed with 
 swords and staves. 
 
 Purple night had descended upon the housetops of 
 Jerusalem. The moon was down. The stars throbbed 
 in golden splendour. On the dark streets might now 
 and then be seen some belated citizen who hurried home- 
 ward guarded by servants with lanterns, watchful of 
 black gateways and corners whence marauders might 
 spring. 
 
 Hyrcanus drawing Phaleon along skirted the empty 
 marketplace. He plunged down into the Tyropaeon 
 Valley among the huddled houses of the poor. Once 
 or twice he paused, but only to fix the great bridge 
 which looming dimly against the stars soared across 
 from the hill of Zion to Moriah. 
 
 Out of the Street of the Cheesemongers he turned to 
 the left, rounded a couple of corners into a squalid lane, 
 and stopped. 
 
 " There is the house," said he, pointing across the 
 way. " I beheld her first in the marketplace, one 
 glimpse among the crowd! She was gone like the flit- 
 ting of the quick jerboa. But I, as in the hills of 
 Moab we track the wild goat, followed, concealing my- 
 self. Hither she came, stepping fast, timid, with many 
 looks behind. This door was opened unto her. Then 
 came I and knocked. None answered ; only the 
 neighbours jeered me from the housetops calling words
 
 92 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 I understood not. Then would I have climbed the wall 
 as now by thy help I shall ! " 
 
 Phaleon was peering uncertainly about in the thick 
 gloom. 
 
 " I begin to know this spot," he muttered. " It hath 
 a familiar aspect. Turn hercide! I have in mind . . . 
 It is ... Nay, it slips ! Would the moon were up ! 
 I'd tell it in a glance. . . . Wait ! " 
 
 But Hyrcanus had crept to the door, laid his ear to 
 it, and listened. A murmur of low voices, somewhat 
 like a song, sounded within. He sprang back. 
 
 " By God's wrath, she is there ! Lo, too, an arrow 
 of light above the housetop! Phaleon! Quick! Thy 
 shoulder here against the wall ! " 
 
 He would not await the servants, who followed at a 
 distance. He made Phaleon brace himself against the 
 wall, mounted on his shoulders, sprang, caught the edge 
 of the parapet, and in an instant had scaled it. 
 
 The house was of rough mud-plastered stones. A 
 square hole in the roof served to let out the smoke of 
 kitchen fires. It was a feeble shimmer of light against 
 a streak of smoke rising up through this aperture, which 
 had caught Hyrcanus's eye. 
 
 When he had gained the housetop he crawled quickly 
 to the hole and peeped in. 
 
 He was looking down upon a group of artisans, hum- 
 ble labourers, and one or two slaves. They were about 
 fifteen or sixteen in all, men, women, and children, gath- 
 ered in a mean room nearly void of furnishing, around 
 a small fire of sticks. They sat, some on a low wooden 
 settle, others cross-legged on the hard-packed clay floor.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 93 
 
 One wore the red cloak of a Galilean peasant; the re- 
 mainder seemed to be Judeans. 
 
 It was to all appearance an assembly or council of 
 members of an eranos or thiasos, 1 one of those labour 
 unions into which vast numbers of the ancient lowly 
 were initiated by secret rites. 
 
 They were conversing quietly together. Several held 
 out their brown toil-warped hands and warmed them at 
 the fire. A mother was rebuking a restless child. 
 
 Hyrcanus discerned objects below only dimly. The 
 sudden fire-shine dazzled his eyes and the smoke stung 
 them. He was still peering eagerly to find the girl he 
 sought among that company, when Phaleon came 
 crawling to his side. 
 
 The young licentiate had been boosted up to the 
 housetop by his servants, but, unskilled in such exercise, 
 had made some noise about it. He was shaking from 
 suppressed laughter. 
 
 " I can now enlighten thee ! " he whispered. " Even 
 as I climbed, memory like a repentant truant returned. 
 Luciscit hoc jam! Out of a boyhood frolic cometh the 
 knowledge. If thy familiar spirit taketh shelter under 
 this roof . . ." Here smoke got into his lungs ; he be- 
 gan to choke, coughing. 
 
 " Peace ! braying ass ! peace ! " 
 
 But already the alarm was given. A girl darted into 
 the midst of the assembly with a low word and a gesture 
 towards the street. At the same time the man in the 
 red cloak crying out pointed up at the smoke-hole where 
 the dark face of Hyrcanus peered. 
 
 As they all started to their feet, casting upward their
 
 94 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 fear-stricken eyes, Hyrcanus beheld his slender maid of 
 Siloam. 
 
 " She is within! " he cried with fierce joy. " Guard 
 the doors below ! Permit none to escape ! " 
 
 An outcry of terror and fright arose inside the house. 
 Men, women, and children rushed hither and thither a 
 moment in panic. Then the little fire of sticks, whether 
 by accident or design, was trampled out. The room was 
 plunged in thick darkness. Hyrcanus bawling orders 
 and warnings to the slaves in the street laboured furi- 
 ously the while with hands, heels, and sword-point, to 
 enlarge the aperture. He broke away the mud-plaster 
 and stones. In a few moments he had widened it enough 
 to admit his body, and leaped down. 
 
 His feet struck a few sparks from the ashes of the 
 trampled fire. All else was profound darkness and 
 silence. The company seemed to have fled. His out- 
 groping hands touched only the solid wall. In vain he 
 searched for an exit. 
 
 Baffled thus, the barbarous passion of his undisciplined 
 heart awoke. His rage vented itself in deep roars. He 
 smashed to flinders against the walls the few pieces of 
 furniture his feet stumbled over. 
 
 At last he kicked up a fagot that still retained some 
 glowing cinders of fire. He whirled it about his head. 
 It broke into flame ; and by this light he discovered the 
 door. 
 
 A shoulder-thrust burst away the frail barrier, ex- 
 posing another mean clay-floored room where were to be 
 seen only a few articles of bedding. But in this room 
 was a second door, which led out of the house. The
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 95 
 
 fugitives as they fled in panic fear had left it wide open. 
 Hyrcanus rushed after with sword and torch. 
 
 He came out under the stars into a weedy enclosure, 
 high-walled and narrow, and through a gate into the 
 street behind. 
 
 But the street divided into a hopeless maze of dark 
 by-ways. The fleeing folk had altogether disappeared. 
 He darted to and fro holding the kindled fagot close 
 to the ground. Everywhere the earth was plashed and 
 trampled in all directions. One track, then another, led 
 to naught. 
 
 He was like a hound on a cold scent. At last a 
 puff of wind blew out the flame and left him in stark 
 black night. 
 
 Despondently, with low-hung head, he trudged back 
 through the gate. 
 
 The servants had meantime broken into the house. 
 Lights were flashing through the rooms. 
 
 Among the weeds of the narrow garden Phaleon was 
 rolling and sending up wild peals of laughter. At sight 
 of the prince's dejected visage his mirth redoubled. 
 
 " Heroum casus! " he cried. " Heroum casus! " 
 
 But Hyrcanus, who knew no Latin, stopped and 
 looked darkly upon him. 
 
 " Thou laughest with a great noise. Findest thou 
 cause for merriment here? " 
 
 " Nay, slay me if thou wilt I care not ! " shrieked 
 the youth. " I cannot refrain ! Ha, ha, ha, ha ! Lo, 
 now ! This house this abode of thy familiar spirit 
 ha, ha, ha! . . ." 
 
 "What sayest thou?"
 
 96 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 '* It is the abode of the city's most familiar harlot, 
 the Magdalene, ha, ha! She hath . . ." 
 
 He broke off his words and scuttled for safety. It 
 seemed that Hyrcanus would surely slay him on the spot. 
 The servants, howling, flung themselves between. 
 
 But even in act to kill, the prince's face changed. 
 His eye-balls rolled loose in their sockets, and, as if the 
 black swollen veins of his forehead had burst inwardly, 
 blood trickled from his mouth. The up-whirled sword 
 dropped from his grasp. He stumbled like one blind, 
 and clutched and tore his hair. 
 
 " Strike me into the dust, O God ! Cover me with 
 mountains as thou hast with shame ! Oh, wrath of God ! 
 Oh, wrath of God ! My soul is weary of my life ! Let 
 destruction descend upon me ! " 
 
 He flung himself down groaning. 
 
 A servant who had been left outside in the street 
 ran in. " Masters ! Masters ! lo, the city-watch 
 cometh ! Already they turn the corner ! " 
 
 " Nay, then, we must depart," said Phaleon. " Lift 
 up my cousin of Antioch, ye two tall fellows. Assist 
 him homeward between you. Haste! Dash out those 
 torches ! " And in a lower voice, " Dis aterl This 
 mad cousin of mine of Antioch hath a whole legion of 
 devils ! "
 
 IX 
 
 AT early dawn of the last day of Elul, a swarm 
 of barefooted slaves crept about the stone 
 porches of Shealtiel's great house, cleansing, 
 washing, setting things in order. Sunset would bring 
 the new moon of Tishri, the Feast of Trumpets, the be- 
 ginning of a new civil year. 
 
 As they busied themselves, some with besoms, some 
 with tall earthenware urns from which they splashed 
 or dabbled water, these servile folk talked excitedly 
 but without noise. A shrug was eloquent. The swift 
 mobile hands expressed volumes in sly gestures. 
 
 The night before, a strange thing had happened. 
 That splendid cousin of Antioch, whose true name was 
 more than suspected, had, it seemed, conceived a pas- 
 sion for a common harlot of the town. He and the 
 Lord Phaleon had gone to seize her at her home, 
 esteeming her to be a virtuous maiden. They had 
 returned covered with ridicule. Then had begun in 
 the banquet-chamber a wild orgy such as had not been 
 surpassed even in the old days when Shealtiel enter- 
 tained King Archelaus. All night the carousal had 
 lasted. 
 
 Over their tasks the servants stealthily gossiped, 
 poking out the lip, with smiles, smirks, and nods. 
 
 The cool morning breeze bore up from the Lower 
 
 97
 
 98 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 City a distant fanfare of trumpets and a tumult of 
 shouting. Brooms and vessels were dropped at once. 
 There was an eager scurrying to the housetop. 
 
 Shealtiel rushed forth from an upper chamber. He 
 had been preparing documents for the prince's seal. 
 In his hand he yet clutched the iron stilus. His hag- 
 gard face wore a disturbed look. 
 
 " Whence cometh that clamour ! " he demanded in a 
 loud voice. " What meaneth that distant blowing of 
 horns ! " 
 
 At that moment Nadab drove his ungainly beast of 
 burden into the court below. 
 
 The camel-driver looked up and perceived the master 
 of the house. 
 
 " O lord of a thousand slaves ! " he bawled. " It is 
 I that will answer thee! Are not my tidings worth an 
 assarion? Behold, there entereth the city now by the 
 Schechem Gate a most marvellous train of horses and 
 camels. Two by two they enter in, with costly trap- 
 pings. They that ride thereon are most splendidly 
 arrayed in rich embroidered garments. From royal 
 Aristobulus of Damascus they come, him of the great 
 Herodian line, whom the Proconsul delighteth to honour. 
 They blow trumpets calling all the world to witness 
 the splendour and glory of their master. And every- 
 where about the market-place flieth already the saying 
 that upon Aristobulus is at last the Judean crown be- 
 stowed by Caesar. And Aristobulus sendeth many pre- 
 cious gifts unto the daughter of Herodias. These thy 
 servant's own eyes and Esau's have beheld the costly 
 vessels of alabaster, the shining garments, and stones of
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 99 
 
 jasper and green chalcedony! O my lord, forget not 
 thy poor servant who hath run panting to tell thee, 
 knowing thy goodness ! " 
 
 Shealtiel tossed the noisy news-monger a copper coin 
 and turned away. 
 
 " This Judean crown," he muttered, " this crown 
 that Caesar took from Archelaus' brows and holdeth out 
 like the apple of Ate, they all raven for it. On 
 which head will it descend! If one but knew what the 
 fatal sisters spin ! " He stood tapping the iron stilus 
 against his teeth. " Why, too, doth the ambitious 
 daughter of Herodias linger at Jerusalem? . . . And 
 the spy I set to watch the young prince sayeth that for 
 two nights past . . ." 
 
 He was aroused from a profound abstraction by the 
 coming of Kedemah. The yellow old woman was 
 hurrying along the porch towards the gynaeceum, with 
 an urn of water, but slackened her pace to cringe in 
 passing the master. 
 
 " Stay," said Shealtiel. 
 
 She set down the urn and bent lower. 
 
 He scanned her withered features with a thoughtful 
 frown. She was a hale, tough, clean old creature still, 
 although shaken by palsy. At last he spoke, in a not 
 unkindly tone. 
 
 " All my days have I beheld thee flitting like a cheer- 
 ful spirit at thy chores about the house. Thou seemest 
 to grow not an hour more aged. Almost I believe thee 
 a dial, recording the flight of time, thyself unchang- 
 ing. How many years, nay, eons, dost thou number? " 
 
 " O Master, what know I of numbers ? " twittered
 
 100 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 the slave in her birdlike voice. " Thy grandsire brought 
 me hither among the captives of the Alexandrian war 
 in the days of Hyrcanus the Ethnarch. All eyes that 
 beheld me in my maidenhood have long been dust." 
 
 " Verily, thou art as ancient as these walls ! And 
 still thou labourest in the gynaeceum? " 
 
 " Only to bear water, O Master. At the weaving my 
 hand shaketh." 
 
 " But thou attendest my daughter Bernice ? " 
 
 " She hath been under my sole charge, Master," cried 
 the old woman with a falsetto laugh of pride, " since 
 ever her mother dying entrusted her unto me ! " 
 
 " Nay, I remember." Shealtiel was silent a mo- 
 ment, while from the narrow street before the house 
 arose the wailing cry of a milkseller driving his goats. 
 " I remember. It was of Bernice I was thinking. 
 Thou hast kept her hid behind curtains. Oft have I 
 sent inquiring. But still thou keepest her hid from 
 my guests." 
 
 " Master ! " stammered Kedemah. " Thou knowest 
 how that she received an unsightly hurt." 
 
 " Is it not yet healed? " 
 
 " Thrice daily I anoint it yet with bdellium." 
 
 " As I live, it seemed no such bruise when I saw it ! 
 Kedemah, beware ! " He shook a warning finger at 
 her. " Sufferest thou Bernice to magnify that paltry 
 wound? Doth she seek with subtlety to thwart my 
 will? By heaven, mine own eyes shall judge! Send 
 her unto me straightway ! Go ! " 
 
 The old slave went trembling. 
 
 Presently came Bernice, reluctant and a little pale.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 101 
 
 She stood meekly with clasped hands, while her 
 father examined and found scant traces of the recent 
 injury. 
 
 Thereupon he reproached her with many stinging 
 words. 
 
 " What ! thou disobedient daughter ! As ever from 
 thine earliest childhood, thou employest tricks and 
 stratagems to gain thine ends against thy father! De- 
 ceitful one ! " 
 
 " Nay, father, it was sore ! " she protested. 
 
 " What meaneth this foolish backwardness ! Why 
 hast thou kept thy face hid from my guest ! Why hast 
 thou failed to employ thy beauty upon him! Thou 
 art not ignorant of thy power ! yea, never maid yet 
 said unto her mirror, * Thou flatterer ! ' Answer, 
 Bernice ! " 
 
 " It is not beseeming in my father's daughter to cast 
 herself upon a man, and moreover when she hath a 
 swollen temple ! " 
 
 *' Beseeming ! beseeming ! Have I lived to have 
 mine ears thus assailed ! Who art thou, to question thy 
 father's wisdom! Thy duty is to save thy father's 
 house, to shed upon it honour, glory, and renewed 
 riches! Is that unbeseeming, fool? Nor needest thou 
 to cast thyself upon his neck ! Employ thine eyes upon 
 him ! Nay, look up ! Such eyes hast thou as not 
 another maid in Jerusalem! By all the gods, girl, 
 knowest thou not how women use such wealth ! " 
 
 While he thus heatedly admonished her, Phaleon 
 came out on the shaded porch and leaned against a 
 pillar near.
 
 102 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " She hath two ways, father," remarked the cynical 
 youth, " whereby to subject that wild head unto her 
 yoke maritali porrigere ora caplstro" 
 
 " Two ways ! " exclaimed Shealtiel. 
 
 " First, a love potion, hippomanes. All Rome, the 
 latest travellers say, buyeth love potions in a kind of 
 rage, since the tale hath spread that thus Sejanus cor- 
 rupted Drusus' wife." 
 
 " Peace with thy folly ! " said Shealtiel impatiently. 
 " Hast thou naught better to offer, depart ! " 
 
 " Nay, my second is a most sure method ! Attire 
 thou Bernice as a courtesan and send her unto him." 
 
 Shealtiel frowned. 
 
 " Dost thou j est at me, boy ! " 
 
 "By Pluto, I jest not! Give ear to the night's ad- 
 venture. Rememberest thou the Magdalene? Oft 
 hath all the town beheld her in the market-place. Tall 
 was she, of a proper shape, and once, they say, beauti- 
 ful as Hebe. But since ever I took note, her beauty 
 hath been as a garden that hath no water. Yet did she 
 paint her ruinous face and go ever more boldly and with 
 uncovered wantonness up and down. The young men 
 mocked at her antics and sought out younger 
 women." 
 
 " She hath outlived her trade, like many another," 
 said Shealtiel. " I have not seen her go about the 
 streets this twelvemonth." 
 
 " She hath deserted her accustomed haunts, but her 
 house . . . Nay, look ! " 
 
 Phaleon, with a stare, pointed suddenly over his 
 father's shoulder. Shealtiel whipping about dis-
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 103 
 
 covered Bernice in an attitude of hot resentment against 
 her brother. 
 
 " What ails the silly maid ! " cried he angrily. 
 " Bernice ! " 
 
 She burst into a storm of tears. 
 
 " Oh, father, I beg of thee, let me depart ! Why 
 dost thou mock before me that unfortunate one ! " 
 
 " Froward looks ! Ill-tempered tears ! And before 
 thy father! Thou shalt not depart! Stand thou 
 silent till I bid thee! Cease those rebellious sobs! 
 Phaleon, say on." 
 
 The youth narrated humorously the attempt of 
 Hyrcanus to break into the Magdalene's house, and its 
 consequences. 
 
 " Thou shouldst have beheld him," concluded Phaleon, 
 " when I, like unto an old pitcher into which one 
 poureth boiling water, burst with laughter, spilling my 
 secret ! He strode at me, sword in air, hercule! 
 a face of thunder, visu tonantef My knees knocked 
 together. Wintry fear pierced my reins. By the high 
 gods, he would have sacrificed me an oblation to his 
 own devil of folly! My blood would have stained the 
 courtesan's threshold! Most luckily, excess of passion 
 struck him weak. And since that hour, although he 
 drinketh like a fish, he hath remained dull, sullen, 
 heavy-lidded with woe." 
 
 Shealtiel turned to his daughter. 
 
 " Lo, what a lover might this one be for thee ! His 
 passions know not a bound they may not pass. He will 
 pile cities at thy feet ! He will plunder temples and slay 
 and trample half the earth ! Such a love mightest thou
 
 104 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 have, Bernice! Play but thy part like a wise maid! 
 God ! Is there no way to quicken her ambition ! Is 
 she all vacant of mind, an empty urn, glorious of ex- 
 terior but containing not treasure nor wine nor spices! 
 God of my faith! That I should be cursed with such 
 lumpish offspring! Have I not prayed unto thee, 
 Bernice, I, thy father! to save thy father's 
 house! " 
 
 As he sat in the porch mouthing bitter words, the 
 girl knelt and piteously hid her face on his knees. 
 
 " A hard father art thou unto me ! Though I obey 
 thee, how might I win his love while he remaineth thus 
 downcast ! " 
 
 " So very simple art thou ? Knowest thou not that 
 a wound yet unhealed is tenderest? Bring thyself be- 
 fore his sight. Practise thy woman's wiles ! for 
 thine own profit and the grey hairs of thy father ! " 
 
 *' And for thy brother's sake too ! " cried Phaleon in 
 a pleading voice. " Turn hercvle! To be brother to 
 the king's favourite ! that hath a goodly noise in the 
 ear! Captain of the king's guard will I be. It is a 
 sure sack without holes. All supplicants who would 
 reach the king must first propitiate me by gifts. Ad 
 dios precor! " 
 
 "Lift up thy head, girl," said Shealtiel. "Rise. 
 Go cleanse thy face of these unseemly tears. Adorn 
 thee, but beware, no pigments or pencilling of 
 thine eyes now! . . . At the cool of day, as we are 
 gathered together, I shall summon thee to bear a cup 
 unto the King." 
 
 The leading conspirators had arranged to assemble
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 105 
 
 for conference under cover of the public rejoicings at 
 the Feast of Trumpets. 
 
 About the cool of day they began to come to Sheal- 
 tiel's house by ones and twos, solemn men, circum- 
 spect, keenly aware of the risk. They gathered in an 
 upper chamber, dismissed the servants, and shut the 
 doors. 
 
 Many plans and details were to be gone over. A 
 long time elapsed. It began to grow dark in the room. 
 There was a calling for candles. 
 
 " I may not summon my servants," said Shealtiel. 
 " An indiscreet word dropped in their ear might bring 
 the Romans thundering upon us. I will summon my 
 daughter instead to minister unto you." 
 
 He clapped his hands. 
 
 Bernice entered, and being instructed brought in first 
 lighted lamps and then an urn of wine and goblets. 
 
 Shealtiel himself poured the bright juice into a cup. 
 
 " O King," said he, " I send thee this by the fairest 
 treasure of my poor house." 
 
 It was at a moment when certain Zealots and Barabbas 
 were holding Hyrcanus in close conversation at the 
 other end of the room. 
 
 The girl glided forward with downbent head, knelt, 
 and presented the cup. Her hands trembled. Some 
 of the wine was spilled on the floor. 
 
 Hyrcanus, pondering other matters, his eyes heavy 
 and bloodshot, turned carelessly, accepted the cup with- 
 out a glance at the bearer, lifted it, and thanked 
 Shealtiel. 
 
 " The wench serveth but clumsily, being affrighted in
 
 106 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 thy presence, O King!" cried Shealtiel. "Yet in my 
 poor judgment is she passing fair. What sayest 
 thou?" 
 
 " Most fair," replied the prince. 'And still he failed 
 to look downward at the girl, who bent, shadowing her 
 face. 
 
 " Nay, but mark the breadth and fulness of her 
 brow ! She who bore her to me was like unto the morn- 
 ing star for beauty ! " 
 
 Here Barabbas, quick to suspect the purport of his 
 rival's manoeuvre, burst into a loud, taunting laugh. 
 
 " Master, he draggeth up his wench to thee in a 
 halter as a shepherd his ewe lamb at Pentecost, ex- 
 pecting huge reward hereafter ! " 
 
 Between those two all-greedy men burned an intense 
 flame of jealousy which only their present mutual ad- 
 vantage repressed, and that with difficulty. Hitherto 
 Shealtiel had been the more diplomatic and self-con- 
 trolled. But now, openly insulted before so many, his 
 haughty spirit could endure no more. He retorted 
 coldly, 
 
 " What then hast thou to offer? One of thine own 
 litter of swine in Gilead? " 
 
 Barabbas leaped up, his eyes flashing terribly. 
 
 " I offer my sword," he thundered, " to cleanse my 
 Master's council of vipers ! " 
 
 He drew his blade and loudly smote the flat of it 
 upon his palm. 
 
 All the conspirators were on their feet in an instant, 
 tongues clamouring fiercely, fists shaken, weapons out. 
 They divided into two groups, the larger about Sheal-
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 107 
 
 tiel, the smaller behind Barabbas. They stood glar- 
 ing and hurling defiances at one another across the 
 room. 
 
 Hyrcanus rushed between with swift words and 
 gestures. He called upon them severally by name, en- 
 treating, persuading, reasoning, commanding. He 
 depicted in brilliant hues the rewards and riches for 
 all if they but laid aside their enmities until Jeru- 
 salem had fallen. 
 
 This appeal began to have an effect upon them, al- 
 though they continued to mutter threats and exchange 
 black looks. At last the prince cried, 
 
 " For the rock on which we have so near split, 
 why, I will remove it from our path! Shealtiel, give 
 thou me this daughter of thine to wife, or any other 
 that thou wilt." 
 
 " Yea, that do I ! " said Shealtiel quickly. 
 
 " And I, Master ! " roared Barabbas, furious. " Am 
 I naught! Who came to thee in the desert with men 
 and spears and horses ! Who fought for thee and shed 
 his blood at thy right hand, ere ever one of these 
 Judean fatlings so much as saluted thee ! " 
 
 " O Barabbas, first of my friends, peace ! Hadst 
 thou likewise an unmarried daughter, her also would I 
 take to wife. But now heed my word. On the day 
 when I come into my kingdom, thou, before all others, 
 shalt have thy first wish granted be that wish what- 
 soever it may ! All these I call to bear witness ! " 
 
 The robber reflected. Then he laughed, showing his 
 grim fangs. 
 
 " Master, by God's throne, I am content ! " For in
 
 108 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 his heart he designed to ask for the head of Shealtiel. 
 
 " Where then is this maid who hath come so near to 
 wreck our hopes ! " inquired the prince. " As I live, 
 I have not yet beheld her face 1 " 
 
 But Bernice had fled amid the confusion. 
 
 "It is a shy little maid," said Shealtiel. "Yet is 
 she full of brightness and laughter, and singeth gaily 
 on the lute. I will cause her to be summoned." 
 
 " Nay, let us first conclude, that we may separate for 
 the night." 
 
 Later, when the conference had ended, Hyrcanus 
 withdrew to go alone to his chamber. 
 
 He traversed the stone-pillared grey porches. It 
 was growing dusk in the world. The great sacred 
 trumpet or shofa had already blown from the Temple 
 Mount. Its sonorous blast, echoed and re-echoed by in- 
 numerable trumpets and horns from the housetops of 
 the city, filled the air with vibrant sounds. Down in 
 the court the servants were running about, boisterously 
 saluting one another: 
 
 " May you be writ down for a Happy New Year ! " 
 
 It was the beginning of the new year, which, according 
 to the prophets, was to bring a new king. 
 
 Who would be that king? 
 
 As Hyrcanus walked on, musing of many matters, 
 he became aware of a female figure that flitted ghost- 
 like before him down the paved corridor. It had 
 emerged hastily from the curtained door of the 
 gynaecewm. 
 
 He gave it no conscious attention at first, supposing 
 it to be some servant. But when it paused at the door-
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 109 
 
 way of his room, he looked up. A whiter light fell 
 about it there as it stood casting over its shoulder a 
 glance backward at him. His blood chilled with su- 
 perstitious fear. 
 
 It was the maid of Siloam. 
 
 He saw again the coarse blue gown, the small oval 
 face half shadowed by the thick dark hair, the startled 
 quick poise and upflung head which he remembered as 
 one recalls a pleasant measure of a song. 
 
 Not a doubt remained to him but that this was a 
 supernatural visitation. She was either his familiar 
 spirit or some malignant demon come to haunt him. 
 
 The figure meantime had passed through the door- 
 way. He sprang forward, leaped into the room, 
 stopped, and stared. 
 
 His heart beat wildly against his ribs. 
 
 Around him were the bare stone walls and furniture 
 of the Jewish sleeping-apartment. His eyes explored 
 the raised couch, the few rugs and mats, the corners of 
 the room. The only exit was by the doorway. Yet the 
 place was untenanted. 
 
 After a moment he discerned lying on the floor in 
 the recess of the wall a little house-sandal of palm- 
 leaf and leather, as if fallen from a foot in hasty flight. 
 He drew cautiously nearer to look, but did not venture 
 to pick it up. 
 
 " Art thou devil or familiar spirit ? " he inquired 
 aloud. 
 
 Silence dwelt within the darkening room. Outside 
 sounded indistinctly the tumultuous tooting of horns 
 from the city housetops.
 
 110 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Open thy lips and answer me ! " he cried again. 
 
 A voice seemed to descend upon him out of the empty 
 air, a woman's voice with a kind of mocking laughter: 
 
 "Hyrcanus?" 
 
 " Here am I ! " 
 
 " Thou who takest unto thee wives shalt seek long 
 for some of them." 
 
 Near though the sounds seemed, they were muffled 
 and faint. He strained forward to catch the words. 
 A cold sweat bathed his body. His knees knocked to- 
 gether. Yet he cried boldly: 
 
 " Who art thou ! " 
 
 Another trill of laughter, faintly mocking, like a 
 tinkle of silver, was audible a moment. Then all was 
 still.
 
 MOVING torches and candles shone out on Mount 
 Moriah, where the white Temple exulted above 
 Jerusalem. Through the narrow city-streets 
 flowed a stream of innumerable voices elate with songs 
 and laughter. Everywhere sounded the joyous New 
 Year cry: 
 
 " May you be written down for a happy New Year ! " 
 
 Night was descending. Many of the people who 
 poured homeward carried perforated lanterns already 
 lighted, whose flicker danced along the walls. 
 
 The conspirators had designed to slip out of Sheal- 
 tiel's house by twos and threes and mingle unnoticed in 
 the passing throngs. 
 
 But as they lingered inside the opened gate and 
 arched passage, the high-walled street before the house 
 ran out of people as the shutting of a sluice empties 
 a channel. It became rapidly deserted. 
 
 A full minute elapsed. In neighbouring lanes the 
 noises of the multitude continued. But here not a foot 
 sounded on the stones. 
 
 Bar abbas first commented on the peculiar circum- 
 stances. He lifted his grim head. 
 
 "Hark!" he muttered. "The street hath lost all 
 its men and beasts at once ! " 
 
 They were in the deep-shadowed archway and had 
 been conversing and saying farewell in low tones. 
 
 Ill
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " The hour waxeth late," said one. " Is not the 
 first watch near an end? " 
 
 But afterwards was an alarmed silence. Everyone 
 listened intently. 
 
 Afar off, towards the citadel and Pretorium, was 
 faintly audible a kind of hooting as though the people 
 jeered some unpopular spectacle. Two or three of the 
 conspirators had already departed down the street and 
 had not returned. But now the others hung back. 
 Shealtiel called a trusted slave and said, 
 
 " Get thee down towards the market-place quickly. 
 See if the way be yet open." 
 
 Barabbas continually snuffed the wind. 
 
 " I like it not ! I smell danger in the air ! While 
 one might tell a hundred, not a foot hath passed, not 
 so much as a dog's ! On the word of Jesus Barabbas, 
 not a foot ! " 
 
 " The people choose rather to go by way of the 
 market-place than thus roundabout," a Zealot dubi- 
 ously suggested. 
 
 " My thumbs prickle ! " said the robber. " May I 
 be strangled if I scent not peril ! " Then, softly, 
 "Hark! . . . A runner!" 
 
 Someone was coming at last, running stealthily. In 
 the stillness was heard the rapid soft patter of his feet. 
 
 Barabbas and two others sprang out from the gate 
 into the middle of the roadway. 
 
 Along the crooked street came fleeting through the 
 dusk a deformed figure which stooped as it ran and 
 cast quick glances behind. It was Nadab the camel- 
 driver.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 113 
 
 " Hold ! " growled Barabbas, springing to arrest him. 
 
 But Nadab wriggled and dodged like a rat, eluded 
 the robber, gained the gateway, and darted in. 
 
 " Hyrcanus ! " he cried in a gasping voice. " Stay 
 me not ! I bear a message for Hyrcanus ! " 
 
 Hyrcanus had only at that moment descended into 
 the court, apprised of the predicament of his followers. 
 When he, emerging from the deeper shadow of the 
 porch, recognised the misshapen camel-driver, 
 
 " Is it thou, Nadab ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Master ! Master ! " panted Nadab, much agitated. 
 " Thine ear ! Closer ! " And pulling at the prince's 
 tunic he whispered, " Thou art betrayed ! The 
 Romans are warned of thy presence in this house ! . . . 
 All ways are stopped as a bottle ! They have thee as if 
 sewed in a sack! One only may escape. One only! 
 All others must perish by the sword! I have come to 
 save thee, Master ! " 
 
 " Hath Salome sent thee? " 
 
 " Unbidden I come, Lord ! Esau was here here 
 in the stables. What could I but come ! slipping 
 through the ranks of soldiery even as they closed to- 
 gether. I will save thee, Master, both thee and 
 Esau ! " 
 
 "How mightest thou do that?" 
 
 " Ah, Master, thou believest not ! But wait ! " 
 
 He darted off towards the stables. 
 
 Hyrcanus looking about saw that already the dismal 
 tidings that the house was surrounded had somehow 
 reached the others. A panic was commencing in the 
 court. Freemen and slaves swarmed to and fro over
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 the stones uttering lamentable cries. One man, drunk 
 with fear, staggered blindly this way and that, clutch- 
 ing both sides of his face. The Zealots, headed by 
 Barabbas, had rushed forth, sword in hand, with the 
 fury of despair, to attempt to cut their way out to 
 the market-place. 
 
 Feeling his cloak plucked, Hyrcanus turned. 
 
 Nadab was back again. He had brought out his 
 camel from the stables. Over its hump, and hanging 
 halfway to the ground, had been loosely tied several 
 empty grain-sacks. 
 
 " O Master ! O Master ! " implored the camel- 
 driver. " Thine ear close ! Thus shalt thoii escape 
 from the circuit of thine enemies ! Cling by the belly- 
 bands beneath the belly of Esau! Lo, the sacks thus 
 will curtain thee! Esau will bear thee safely down 
 the street." 
 
 "God's throne! What is this!" muttered the 
 prince, starting. 
 
 " See thou ! Esau will run as in a mad frenzy ! It 
 is a trick which I have taught unto him. The soldiers 
 seeing Esau thus unmounted and with naught but 
 empty sacks will open their ranks to him and let him 
 pass. Who stoppeth a runaway camel in his rage and 
 madness ! And thou, Master, safe hid beneath the 
 belly thou shalt escape thine enemies ! " 
 
 The trick promised no less than life and liberty. 
 Even an armed rank would break before the rush of an 
 enraged camel in a narrow place. If Esau could be 
 made to counterfeit the rare frenzy which seizes those 
 patient beasts of burden, the Romans perceiving him
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 115 
 
 apparently riderless could indeed be expected to let 
 him pass. 
 
 But as the prince's mind leaped joyously to this hope, 
 he glanced at Nadab's sweating face of fear that 
 glistened like glass in the dim light. A strange 
 thought came over him. 
 
 " May two cling thus to the camel's belly ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " Nay ! " cried Nadab in a piteous voice, kissing the 
 beast's hairy muzzle. 
 
 " How then wilt thou save thine own life ? " 
 
 " Thou alone mayest escape, Master, thou and 
 Esau! See thou feed him not too sparingly of 
 chopped barley-straw at eventide, so much as mine 
 arms cover when spread thus. And when thou canst, 
 a double handful of green beans. Esau hath a 
 special relish for green beans! And, O Master, when 
 Esau drinketh, if thou wouldst but look to his gums 
 after, that no leeches cling . . ." 
 
 " Peace ! " said Hyrcanus, confused and frowning. 
 " Why off erest thou thy life for mine ? " 
 
 " Nay, thou didst save my life once ! Barabbas 
 would have slain me. At Salcah it happened. My lord 
 hath forgot ! But I I have not forgot ! " 
 
 " If I spared thee, it was for mine own advantage, 
 not thine. Thou owedst me naught on that account." 
 
 " Is thy servant lower than a dog? Nadab hath 
 little, yet he hath gratitude! And, O my lord, it may 
 be that I brought this danger upon thee, but unwit- 
 tingly did I ! Ere ever I knew that thou didst accom- 
 pany Barabbas hither, I informed . . ."
 
 116 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Peace ! " cried Hyrcanus again in a troubled voice 
 so sharp that it instantly silenced the pleader. 
 
 And afterwards the prince stood for some time still, 
 frowning upon the ground like one in a cloud of aston- 
 ishment. 
 
 Terror ruled in the paved court about them. The 
 panic-stricken slaves rushed through the porches and 
 up and down the staircases uttering dreary cries. In 
 the rooms and on the housetop resounded the shrill 
 weeping of women, the screams of children. All the 
 house was boiling. Animals had broken loose from the 
 stables. Squealing and braying they rushed hither 
 and thither. The Zealots who had sallied out to dash 
 themselves against the hedge of spears were now flee- 
 ing back. Some had flung down their swords, to beat 
 their breasts and tear their hair. 
 
 In the gateway Barabbas raved like a madman, 
 brandishing his black fists and howling curses at the 
 star-gemmed sky. 
 
 Shealtiel on the other hand stood quiet like one 
 dreaming. He stood under the porch of his doomed 
 house, fumbled his long sleeves, and stared vacantly 
 around. 
 
 Hyrcanus put aside temptation. In those few 
 crowded moments had come to him a new conception 
 of a king's part. 
 
 He lifted Salome's chain from his neck and flung it 
 with its purple amethyst over the shaggy head of the 
 camel-driver. 
 
 " It is not meet for me to accept precious gifts, but
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 117 
 
 to give them," he said. " Thou alone deservest to use 
 thy means of life. Go." 
 
 " Master ! Ah ! thou temptest me beyond my 
 strength ! " stammered the camel-driver, his knees shak- 
 ing. 
 
 " Go ! But if thou bear that token unto the daugh- 
 ter of Herodias, thou mayest yet save all within this 
 house. We be numerous here, the walls high and 
 strong. The place might well be defended for an hour. 
 The multitude will be aroused against the Romans. 
 And if then Salome's armed men come ... I see thou 
 comprehendest ! Go! Make haste! And if I live to 
 enter into my kingdom, great shall be thy reward." 
 
 "Master, I go!" 
 
 Nadab crawled beneath the belly of the camel. Con- 
 cealed by the hanging sacks, he spoke a sharp word. 
 
 The trained animal curled back its loose lips, baring 
 its yellow teeth, pranced grotesquely, reared, and sud- 
 denly lunged out through the gate as Barabbas was in 
 act to close it behind the last of the fugitives. 
 The robber had to spring nimbly aside to avoid being 
 trampled underfoot. 
 
 Careening like a tall ship, its great, flat, soft feet 
 pattering at a clumsy run, the camel charged on down 
 the street with maddened squeals a signal to everyone 
 to clear the path. 
 
 Barabbas turned from making fast the stout iron 
 bars and perceived Hyrcanus. 
 
 " O Mkster ! " howled the robber foaming at the 
 mouth. " Must desert-hawks be caught in the same
 
 118 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 cage with these soft Jerusalem rats ! Let them perish ! 
 But we we . . . Oh, if I but knew the threadings of 
 this wilderness of walls, thou and I might yet escape 
 the fat Roman swine that Annas hath sent to destroy 
 us!" 
 
 " See, Barabbas, how leisurely they advance. They 
 explore every crevice and search the surrounding house- 
 tops. There is one way of escape." 
 
 "Escape! How!" 
 
 " If we make shift to arm ourselves and hold these 
 walls, will not our Zealots without stir up the multi- 
 tude and assail the Romans like hornets? Hearken, 
 Barabbas. I have had secret dealings with Salome. 
 Inquire not now . . . but know this : I look for aid. 
 Oft out of the blackest cloud will flash the brightest 
 light. Perhaps out of this night's despair I shall issue 
 to a throne ! " 
 
 His firm assured words struck hope into the savage 
 wolf of Gilead. 
 
 " Arms ! " roared the robber, rushing at Shealtiel 
 and smiting him on the breast. " Ho ! Give arms 
 here! Thinkest thou Jesus Barabbas to be such an- 
 other as thyself a sheep to die bleating under the 
 butcher's knife ! " 
 
 The staggering blow roused Shealtiel from his stupor. 
 He lifted his dreary eyes. 
 
 " Arms ? " he echoed in a hollow voice. " Arms, 
 sayest thou? . . . Yea, Shealtiel shall not die until Ro- 
 man souls have shown him the path to dusty hell." 
 
 He led the way to the housetop. 
 
 The investiture of the place was complete. Every
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 119 
 
 avenue of escape had been closed almost at one moment 
 by sections of the heavily armoured troops. Detach- 
 ments were then sent up on the housetops around to 
 proceed across the roofs. 
 
 Beyond the first manoeuvre, there was no pretence of 
 taking the conspirators unawares. The files of legion- 
 aries were drawn closer by slow degrees. An assur- 
 ance magnificently contemptuous showed in the deliber- 
 ate advance of the Romans to engorge their prey. 
 
 The defenders of the house were afforded a little 
 time. They rushed desperately to arms. Ancient 
 spears, bows, javelins, bucklers, breastpieces, 
 trophies of many an old Asmonean war or Herodian 
 raid, were brought up to the housetop by a dozen pant- 
 ing slaves and deposited in jingling heaps. Hyrcanus 
 girded his loins for battle and moved hither and thither 
 posting his men along the parapet. 
 
 From the market-place came the main body of the 
 legionaries, a moving grove of dense upright spears 
 and tufted headpieces that glinted in the red flare of 
 torches. The street resounded to their clanking tread 
 and the brassy clash of swaying shields. 
 
 A tuba blew, the echo pealing strangely loud between 
 the high narrow walls. 
 
 With that the trampling of feet abruptly ceased. A 
 muttered command ran along the ranks. The iron- 
 shod spears struck the ground as one. A pause fol- 
 lowed, as dreadful as the impending storm. 
 
 At the grating of the gate appeared a Roman helmet. 
 In response a shadowy helmet, gigantic, portentous, 
 loomed on the farther wall of the now deserted court.
 
 120 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 In the sudden quiet a deep-chested barbarous voice 
 shouted a few words of broken Aramaic and Greek 
 a demand for admission. 
 
 It was answered by a wild yell of despair and de- 
 fiance from the housetop. A dart was cast down which 
 stuck quivering in the earth. 
 
 Great armloads of wood had been brought from the 
 Timber Market. Fires were presently kindled along 
 the street, the better to illumine the scene. Sextus 
 Pompilius Rufus, Centurion of Jerusalem, military com- 
 mander in Pilate's absence, became distinctly visible 
 under the arch of a gate a little way down the street. 
 A stalwart martial figure in a plumed steel cap, he 
 stood issuing orders. His hand pointed hither and 
 yon. Messengers ran briskly to and fro. 
 
 Soldiers began to appear on the nearest housetops 
 in considerable numbers, each with a leash of darts. 
 But Shealtiel's tiled parapet lifted a full story above 
 the others, so that its defenders were as behind a strong 
 breastwork. 
 
 Barabbas at sight of the Centurion, an old foe of 
 the hill-warfare beyond Jordan, seized a strong Cretan 
 bow of goafs-horn. He fitted quickly a barbed arrow 
 to, the cord and leaned out. 
 
 "For thee, Sextus!" he howled. 
 
 The taut string snarled like a mighty wasp. The 
 venomous shaft sped, broke against the Roman's 
 casque, wounded him in the cheek, and brought him to 
 his knees. 
 
 An outburst of taunting cries from the Jews greeted 
 the shot. But Sextus sprang up, wiping the blood
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 
 
 from his cheek. He disdained to reply to the jeers of 
 Barabbas. Once more at his beck the tuba sounded. 
 The attack began. 
 
 Crouching behind their rectangular shields the dart- 
 throwers advanced over the housetops as near as pos- 
 sible, and let fly their darts. Blood soon began to 
 spatter the tiles of Shealtiel's parapet. Here and there 
 loud shrieks and groans resounded as the plunging 
 javelins pierced human flesh. 
 
 The Romans in the street meantime assailed the 
 gate. Some wielded a heavy piece of timber, running 
 back and forth in spite of the narrowness of the space, 
 and battering formidably. Others locked shields above 
 them in form of a testudo, to roof off the rain of de- 
 scending missiles. The blows made the solid stone wall 
 tremble. The jarring clangour added a heavier 
 diapason to the yells of the combatants. 
 
 From the housetop poured down not only arrows and 
 darts but stones pried from the pave of the court, 
 balustrades of the porches, walls of inner rooms, am- 
 phoras, urns, the shrubbery of the garden, and even 
 the tiles of the parapet. This avalanche thundering 
 on the heads beneath repeatedly broke the testudo and 
 struck down several. 
 
 Hyrcanus, moreover, crafty in war, forebade to cast 
 back the darts thrown from neighbouring roofs. Thus 
 the Roman throwers having expended their store were 
 slow to replenish it. 
 
 There were no scaling-ladders. Sextus not antici- 
 pating so stubborn a defence had neglected to bring 
 them from the citadel. This too prolonged the contest.
 
 122 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 It began to be seen that a storm was gathering at 
 the backs of the Romans. 
 
 Along the outer rim of the fire-glare thousands of 
 shadowy, watching forms were visible on the housetops. 
 The Jew vented his racial grudge against the invader 
 in yells, hoots, groans, and hisses. Unseen hands be- 
 gan to drop tiles and stones more and more frequently 
 among the soldiers who guarded the outlets of the 
 street. An excited multitude gathered in the market- 
 place. Spurred on by the harangues of Zealots, they 
 passed from derisive cries and stone-flinging to bold 
 hostility. Of a sudden came a scattered rush against 
 the Roman files there, which the prompt spears easily 
 repelled. 
 
 But the menace of the multitude grew with the min- 
 utes. None realised this more keenly than Sextus the 
 Centurion. He was in a perilous predicament. The 
 Roman garrison at Jerusalem was unusually scant of 
 numbers just at that time, owing to the Procurator's 
 absence. Sextus had brought to this work every avail- 
 able legionary. There was no reinforcement for him 
 either from Antonia or elsewhere. 
 
 He vigorously urged on the attack. Those struck 
 down at the battering-ram were at once replaced by 
 others. The legionaries kept steadily to their task. 
 It was evident a breach must soon be effected. Un- 
 der its strong pounding the gate began to totter. The 
 thick iron bars became twisted and bent. The hinges 
 rattled loosely. The waiting ranks pressed closer for 
 the final storm. 
 
 Again, and again, the timber, like a huge centipede
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 123 
 
 propelled by a score of mail-clad legs, dashed forward, 
 smote, and recoiled, the men gasping and blowing with 
 the effort. 
 
 " O my stout Romans ! Are ye become babes ! " 
 Sextus cried. 
 
 He sought to shame them, to incite them by mention 
 of the rich spoils inside, the gold and silver, the beauti- 
 ful girls, the dainty viands. Finally he lent his own 
 shoulder to the ram. 
 
 A tremendous blow sent the gate crashing in. 
 
 But at the same moment were poured from above 
 great kettlefuls of boiling oil which Hyrcanus had or- 
 dered to be made ready. The deluge splashed upon the 
 locked shields of the testudo and the heads under it, 
 penetrating every joint and crevice. 
 
 Frightful outcries followed. The battering-ram fell 
 and lay deserted in the broken gate. Men ran back 
 shrieking, rolled and writhed on the street. 
 
 The multitude in the market-place made a second 
 rush, more furious and concerted, against the Roman 
 rear. Sextus because of the smallness of his force had 
 omitted to station troops on the housetops at the en- 
 trance of the street. Disaster resulted; for as the 
 populace dashed against the Roman detachment there, 
 the inhabitants of the houses, inflamed also by the 
 spectacle, broke off tiles and hurled pots and furniture 
 from the windows. 
 
 Beneath this combined assault the thin rank that 
 guarded the mouth of the street gave way, broke, and 
 crumbled. Three or four isolated legionaries were left 
 like piers amid a tempestuous flood. They sprang
 
 124 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 back to back and tried to buffet off the whirl of sword- 
 thrusts and spear-stabs. But the flood surged on. 
 Sextus had scarcely time to throw his remaining force 
 in a half circuit double-ranked about the gate. 
 
 So fierce and sudden was the rush, so great the multi- 
 tude, so lavish of life, that the iron discipline of the 
 cohort wavered before it. Sextus ran hither and 
 thither to keep his lines from breaking. 
 
 And now from the darkness beyond this fire-illumined 
 tumult, rumbled barbarous horns like a hoarse bellow- 
 ing of bulls. 
 
 Hyrcanus leaped upon the parapet, peered through 
 the smoke, and shouted, 
 
 " Salome's horsemen ! Let us descend and sally out, 
 that we may help them sweep the Roman dogs to hell ! " 
 
 The fight had gone overwhelmingly against the 
 Romans. Driven in from the end of the street, crushed 
 back into a cramped half-circuit about the fallen gate, 
 their lines sagged like a cloth in a wind. Here and 
 there one of those towers of brass reeled under the storm 
 of blows, sank, and was trampled underfoot. Sextus 
 himself was wounded. 
 
 And now the fierce spearsmen of Trachonitis were 
 coming to complete the ruin ! 
 
 Against the harnessed Roman rank the undisciplined 
 half-armed multitude poured its furious waves. The 
 Jews had seen these world-destroyers give ground be- 
 fore them. Intoxicated by that unbelievable sight, 
 mad with lust of death, they dashed out their own lives 
 like moths. The pressure behind drove them on 
 against the spears. In sheer despair they plucked with
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 125 
 
 bare hands at the interlocked shields and stabbed and 
 hewed. 
 
 Nearer and nearer bellowed the hoarse warhorns of 
 Trachonitis. Hyrcanus and his followers pulled away 
 the debris of the gate and rushed out to break the 
 Roman circuit. 
 
 But even in the brief interval of clearing the passage, 
 a change had come upon the outer scene like tearing 
 off a mask. As Hyrcanus emerged from the gate, his 
 rallying-cry perished on his lips. 
 
 Salome's horsemen were riding into the smoke and 
 blaze of the street. But instead of falling upon the 
 hard-pressed Romans, they began to hack and thrust- 
 through and ride down the dense multitude, who, 
 caught thus between two deaths, broke and scattered. 
 They who a moment before had been the savage as- 
 sailants were now flying in knots. Vainly they sought 
 for holes in which to hide, shrieking, lamenting, and 
 casting away their weapons. 
 
 Relieved, the legionaries raised a glad shout and 
 turned quickly to repel the sortie of those within the 
 house. 
 
 Phaleon went down among the shields with a strangled 
 gulp. At that Shealtiel flung his mantle over his face, 
 rushed upon the level spearheads, and died. The air 
 was thick with dying voices, the ground slippery with 
 blood. 
 
 As a scant remnant of the conspirators fled back 
 into the narrow archway of the gate, Barabbas, who 
 had fought howling at Hyrcanus's right hand, slipped 
 and fell on the hoof-polished wet pave.
 
 126 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Save me, Master ! " he gasped. " I served thee ! 
 Thou owest me this ! " 
 
 The cry of despair pealed like a clarion in the darkest 
 depths of Hyrcanus's heart. 
 
 He stopped short, bestrode the stricken robber, drove 
 his sword into a decurion's teeth, hewed off a soldier's 
 iron casque, beat down another's spear, and stabbed him 
 under the rim of his breastpiece. 
 
 Single-handed he stayed the Roman rush a moment 
 in the gate. They drew off a little way to re-form 
 their rank, not knowing how many defended the dark s 
 narrow passage. 
 
 Hyrcanus looked down and thought that he bestrode 
 a corpse. The eyes of Barabbas, wide-stretched and 
 rolled upward, had already turned glassy; blood flowed 
 from a spear-thrust in his side. 
 
 A glance flung over his shoulder told the prince that 
 he was alone. The two or three of his following that 
 had not been slain had fled without pause through the 
 archway. All courage had gone out of them. They 
 had thought only of hiding. 
 
 Therewith the flame of rage that had hitherto 
 sustained Hyrcanus flickered and expired. His heart 
 grew cold. 
 
 He perceived that he himself was sorely wounded in 
 the side. When he drew a breath, it was like the cutting 
 of a knife. Blood was trickling down his forehead and 
 into his eyes; but still he made out to see how the 
 Romans, beyond the gate, were gathering for another 
 rush.
 
 PRINCE HYRCANUS 127 
 
 He turned and went back slowly into the court, quiet 
 as despair. 
 
 Shealtiel's house was already in the hands of the 
 enemy. While its defenders had been sallying forth 
 below, the javelin-throwers on the other housetops had 
 bridged the narrow space with beams and gained en- 
 trance above. Someone had fired the straw-filled 
 stables. The court was full of smoke, sparks, and 
 blaze, amid which a few animals still plunged and 
 snorted. 
 
 Looting had begun. From inner rooms sounded shrill 
 screams of butchered slaves and ravished women and the 
 bestial laughter of ravishers. A legionary leaned out 
 of a window and dashed a wriggling babe on the stones 
 so that its bowels gushed out. A bull-necked man in 
 a helmet dragged a slim naked girl along the rough 
 pavement of the court by her black coil of hair as by 
 a rope. A half-grown boy hung over a broken 
 balustrade head downwards, stabbed between the 
 shoulder-blades. Children fled wildly through the 
 porches, chased by bearded brute-men of Rome. A 
 soldier whose passions sought a different vent clanked 
 forth from the banquet-hall, his hollow shield heaped 
 high with costly cups. Another leaned against a pillar 
 and elevated above his sucking lips a goatskin of wine. 
 
 Through these dreary scenes the wounded Hyrcanus 
 passed somehow, unheeded and unhindered. 
 
 His strength was failing fast, but he ascended the 
 staircase and gained his own chamber. Some blind im- 
 pulse had drawn him on, more than conscious purpose.
 
 128 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 He prepared to fall upon his sword. 
 
 Planting the hilt in a small niche in the wall, he 
 paused to wipe the blood from his eyes. The room 
 wavered around him in the gloomy light of the burn- 
 ing. He held the sword firm, fixed his gaze steadily 
 upon its point, and leaned upon it. 
 
 With that the grey stone wall seemed to open like a 
 door, revolving inward on itself. A vision appeared 
 before him. There in the dark recess stood his maid 
 of Siloam holding in both hands a flat Jewish rush- 
 light. The unsteady flame cast swift ripples of shine 
 and shadow over her pale face. 
 
 She gazed at him with wide, frightened eyes and 
 beckoned with her hand. 
 
 He tried to go towards her, but stumbled. His feet 
 were heavy as lead. And with the effort to lift them, 
 he seemed to sink down and down through fathomless 
 abysses of sweet silence into darkness and peace.
 
 PART TWO 
 BETHANY 
 
 IN the tumult, smoke, and flame of Shealtiel's fall- 
 ing house, black night had enfolded the head of 
 Hyrcanus. 
 
 Out of that night his life emerged slowly. His senses 
 came back feeble and tired, like pigeons homing from 
 a far clime. He was haunted through a long series 
 of vague impressions by a recurrence of the sweet voice 
 he had heard first at Siloam and afterwards in his 
 empty room at Shealtiel's house. By fitful glimmers 
 he thought he saw the maiden hovering about him. 
 Then it seemed there were two women, and once he 
 would have said three, and several times the sturdy red- 
 bearded face which had confronted him in the lurid 
 glooms of Gehenna appeared. 
 
 A fresh wave of oblivion swept away like fireflies be- 
 fore the black north wind all those faint confused 
 sights and sounds. 
 
 He awoke at last wonderfully refreshed. 
 
 A strange, bright, dreamful peace enveloped him. 
 He was lying on a pallet beside a latticed window in 
 
 a small upper chamber, under a rough-raftered low 
 
 129
 
 130 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 roof. It was a poor place, cleanly swept and set in 
 order. The walls were mud-plaster, stained yellowish 
 with the common wall-wash of the country. Broken sun- 
 shine, reflected through olive-boughs just outside, 
 threw a golden shimmer on the ceiling. In a cracked 
 old pot on the window-ledge Syrian narcissus, the rose of 
 Sharon, bloomed, filling the little room with delicate 
 fragrance. An earthen cruse of water stood on the 
 floor beside the bed. 
 
 Lying quiet he took note of all these things. He 
 looked out of the window and saw a grey-green vista 
 of olive-trees in a wide rustling calm. The trees 
 mounted slowly up and up a long hill to where the 
 sapphire sky, untenanted by a single cloud, rested on 
 the summit like a smile of God. 
 
 Nearer at hand sounded a homely clucking of 
 chickens and an occasional moo of a cow. He lay 
 listening and watched quick birds steer past the window, 
 till his eyes grew heavy and he slept. 
 
 A brisk foot-tread on the floor aroused him. He 
 saw a woman enter the room and kneel beside him. 
 
 She was a woman of the common people, small, lean, 
 rather old than young, her features sharp and energetic, 
 her skin a dryish yellow, faded as if from exposure to 
 kitchen fires. Her coarse gown was the brown red- 
 striped garb of the Judean labouring class ; she 
 gave it a swift upward tuck at the cloth girdle as she 
 stooped. Lifting the earthen cruse, she began to 
 moisten the wrappings of Hyrcanus's head. Her hands, 
 ugly, tanned, knotted by toil, darted deftly here and
 
 BETHANY 131 
 
 there like lizards. Her brisk black eyes met his and 
 smiled in friendly sort. 
 
 " Where am I? " he asked. He wondered at his own 
 voice, so hoarse and faint. 
 
 " Thou liest at Bethany, lord." 
 
 "Bethany?" 
 
 " Fifteen furlongs is it from Jerusalem. Lazarus 
 saith it be but twelve if thou goest straight up over- 
 hill." 
 
 "Who art thou?" 
 
 " Martha am I named, lord." 
 
 " How came I unto this house ? " 
 
 " Nay, I know not. . . . Peace ! Lie still ! let be ! 
 let be ! " she cried sharply as he moved. " Lo, thou 
 hast shook water all over thy dry clean bed ! Now must 
 I wipe it off!" 
 
 Despite her protests Hyrcanus struggled up and 
 propped himself weakly on his elbow. 
 
 " How came I hither ! Woman, in the name of God, 
 speak ! " 
 
 "Oh, oh! Thine eyes frighten me! Barjona 
 brought thee hither. It is two days and two nights ago. 
 Oh, I pray thee, lord, lie down ! Thy wounds will open ! 
 And see what a great puddle thou makest of the bed! 
 Now must I change thy coverings ! " 
 
 He lay down groaning. 
 
 " Who is this Barjona? " 
 
 "Barjona? Knowest thou him not! Then must 
 thou wait till Barjona himself come to tell thee." 
 
 The little woman pulled and plucked busily at his
 
 132 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 bandages and smoothed the bed. He stared up at the 
 ceiling and was silent. The memory of his disaster had 
 begun to break upon him and a deep wave of gloom over- 
 whelmed him. 
 
 " Knowest thou who I am? " he asked at last, turning 
 his eyes upon her. 
 
 " Art not thou that great Hyrcanus for whom men 
 slay and burn?" she answered simply. "Be at rest. 
 Thou liest safe hid. They seek thee in vain." Here 
 she jumped up from her knees and cried with a sharp- 
 ened voice, " My bread ! My bread in the oven . . ." 
 
 " Stay ! " He stretched forth an imperious arm, on 
 which jewelled ornaments still glittered. " It may be 
 that mine enemies Annas or the Roman tempt thee 
 to reveal my hiding-place unto them for a price. Now 
 if they proclaim that whoso declareth my hiding-place 
 shall receive one talent, I will give thee double to hold 
 thy peace. And if they offer two talents, again will 
 I pay thee double, whatsoever the sum may be." 
 
 Martha tucked her brown hands into her coarse gar- 
 ment. Her eyes winked rapidly; her sharp features 
 took on a shrewd look. She was calculating. 
 
 " Hast thou then so much gold ? " 
 
 " Gold shall be thine beyond all asking." 
 
 She stood before him, troubled, studying her restless 
 hands. 
 
 " Nay, we be poor in this house," she said. " Mary 
 hath not a gift of saving. And Lazarus he hath not 
 a gift at earning. Oft I lose patience with them both. 
 Nay, lord, we be right poor! All care of the house 
 falleth on me! Hast thou in truth so much gold,
 
 BETHANY 133 
 
 then mightest thou if so be thou wilt thou mightest 
 even restore unto us the price of the pot of ointment 
 wherewith thy hurts are anointed. Not any common 
 fat of geese, mark thou! Nay, the choicest balsam of 
 Jericho! Two full silver drachmas for a little pot 
 scarce bigger than my hand! Ask the apothecary at 
 the foot of the street if it be not so ! And Lazarus hav- 
 ing not the money did pawn his new cloak. And now 
 he goeth about in an old garment so full of holes 
 and Kippurim at hand! Oh, it shameth me to patch 
 it ! But thou thou wilt not say I asked thee ? For 
 he would scold." Sniffing suspiciously she turned to- 
 wards the doorway. " Oh, my bread ! my bread 
 burneth ! " she cried in shrill alarm like a frightened 
 sparrow, and abruptly fled. 
 
 Hyrcanus turned towards the bright calm hill of 
 olives beyond the window, mused a while upon his shat- 
 tered dream of kingship, and being very weak slept 
 again. 
 
 Near midday he was reawakened by a smell of food. 
 Eager with hunger he turned his head quickly. 
 
 A peasant woman larger than the first but wearing 
 a similar coarse brown garment, knelt now beside his 
 bed. On her lap she was holding patiently a small dried 
 gourd filled with wine, and a platter that contained 
 onions cooked in oil, stewed lentils, bread, and a cut 
 melon fresh from the garden. 
 
 She saw his eyes fixed earnestly upon her. 
 
 " I am Mary," she said in a low, even voice deeper 
 than usual in woman, " the sister of Lazarus and Martha. 
 I brought thee up thy food. So well wast thou sleeping
 
 134 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 I feared to wake thee. But now the onions and lentils 
 grow cold. I pray thee eat and drink." 
 
 Slow, somewhat awkward, she had a grave, mild, medi- 
 tative face. Her kind eyes, lustrous and calm, dwelt 
 upon him in sober delight. 
 
 " Thy strength returneth, lord." 
 
 " Thou shalt be rewarded for this ! " said Hyrcanus. 
 " Thou and thy sister and thy brother. May I be cruci- 
 fied if I do not laden you with jewels! " 
 
 The woman smiled placidly watching him eat. 
 
 " Speaketh thy heart those words, lord, then are 
 we already repaid. But wherefore sparest thou the 
 wine ? Hath it become too much warmed by the sun ? " 
 Her large palm visited the sides and bottom of the gourd. 
 " Or is it too sharp for thy tongue ? I went even unto 
 the door of Simeon to obtain it. My sister reproached 
 me saying that because she ministered unto thee in mine 
 absence, her bread burned." 
 
 " How came I into this house ? " Hyrcanus suddenly 
 demanded, when his appetite had been appeased and 
 his thirst quenched. 
 
 Trouble grew upon her face. She remained silent. 
 
 " I bid thee speak ! " cried Hyrcanus frowning. 
 
 " I know scarce more than this, lord. In the night 
 Simon Barjona bore thee hither. Nay, it was near cock- 
 crow. The sky was already grey in the east. Over 
 Jerusalem was smoke and the red light of burning. 
 And one that was with Barjona did cast up pebbles 
 against our lattice. And we arose in haste, Martha and 
 I, and looked forth. And behold there were two stand- 
 ing below in the garden, and Barjona bore thee sore
 
 BETHANY 135 
 
 wounded on his back. Then we aroused our brother 
 Lazarus. He is a most heavy sleeper, he snoreth the 
 livelong night, hearing not if the house fall down. But 
 we awakened him, and he got up and unbarred the 
 door, and we brought thee in and laid thee here. And 
 at first we thought thee dead for sure." 
 
 " That Simon Barjona, who is he? " 
 
 The woman meditated a moment clasping her rough- 
 ened red hands in her lap, and said softly, 
 
 " A poor fisherman of Capernaum." 
 
 " Was he of my following? Was he of the band of 
 Barabbas? Or of the household of Shealtiel? Or a 
 Zealot? . . . Why art thou silent?" 
 
 " These be questions thou must ask of Simon himself .'* 
 
 " Where then is he ? Why cometh he not for his re- 
 ward ? Let him be summoned ! Here is this armlet of 
 gold. Give it unto him." 
 
 " Simon Barjona goeth a long journey. He return- 
 eth only after the new moon." 
 
 Her manner was troubled yet, uncertain. Her fingers 
 fumbled in her lap. The eyes of Hyrcanus flashed 
 suspicion. 
 
 " That other that came with Barjona yea, look not 
 dismayed, thou thyself hast said it, who was that 
 one?" 
 
 " Nay, verily, I may not speak ere Simon returneth," 
 murmured the poor woman humbly, trembling and 
 shrinking beneath his darkened countenance. " That 
 other also hath departed." 
 
 " I perceive ye are all of a conspiracy to keep me ig- 
 norant," he angrily exclaimed. " Are thy lips sealed
 
 136 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 likewise on all doings in the world! Were no others 
 saved out of ShealtiePs house ? " 
 
 She looked up, eager to give him pleasure. 
 
 " Thy follower, the great robber Barabbas. It is 
 told in the market-places how that Sextus the Centurion 
 discovered him wounded yet alive amongst the slain and 
 holdeth him for judgment. Barabbas lieth in chains 
 to await Pilate's coming.'* 
 
 " As God liveth ! " muttered Hyrcanus uneasily. 
 
 A strange thing had happened to him while the woman 
 was speaking. In his ear had seemed to ring again the 
 despairing cry which Barabbas had gasped out at the 
 gate : 
 
 " Save me, Master! I served tliee! TTwu owest me 
 this! " 
 
 " Heardest thou not a voice, Mary ? " 
 
 Mary turned about in natural surprise. 
 
 " Nay. Did my sister call me ? " 
 
 He lay a while silent, marvelling. 
 
 " What more hast thou ? " he inquired at last. 
 
 " Many inhabitants of Jerusalem were slain in thy 
 sedition. Many houses were pulled down by the Roman 
 soldiery and the gutters flowed blood. Yea, it is said 
 the report flieth on every tongue that the proud 
 daughter of Herodias sent her heathen spearsmen to 
 succour the Romans because of her new hopes of power. 
 Aristobulus, who hath sent unto her offers of marriage, 
 hath been promised the kingdom by Cassar." 
 
 At this Hyrcanus raised himself from his bed glaring 
 and grinding his teeth in such fury that Mary cowered. 
 
 " Wait ! " he groaned, and shook his clenched hand
 
 BETHANY 137 
 
 towards the city. " Wait, O thou fair, false face ! 
 Wait, thou oath-drinker! For that thou hast treacher- 
 ously done unto me, I shall render unto thee double! 
 Out of these ashes I shall rise like unto a phoenix ! My 
 beak and claws shall be dipped in thy blood, O Salome ! 
 Not great Aristobulus nor the iron bucklers of Rome 
 shall save thee from the hour of my vengeance ! " 
 
 His savage transport reopened his wounds. A torrent 
 of bright crimson gushed over the bed. Mary caught 
 him in her arms and called for help. 
 
 Again a dreadful darkness encircled him. He lay 
 a long time within the jaws of death. 
 
 He recovered consciousness at last, more enfeebled 
 than before. 
 
 In the long, calm, bright days which followed, some 
 measure of strength returned. He was able after a 
 while to sit up, then to move about. 
 
 The withering touch of illness and misfortune had 
 shrivelled to so small a compass his wide designs and 
 towering ambitions, that now the supreme joy of life 
 seemed to consist in crawling up to the window to look 
 down into the walled garden. 
 
 Kippurim was past before he accomplished this. In 
 the fields of Bethany the autumn ploughing and sowing 
 were under way. The invalid clung to the window- 
 ledge, breathed the odour of fresh-turned clods, and lis- 
 tened to the chirrup of countless birds that followed 
 the forked plough along the furrow. 
 
 At a day's end Lazarus came into the garden and 
 began spading an onion-bed. 
 
 The strong-built labourer, with slow and awkward
 
 138 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 movements like his sister Mary, had tucked his coarse 
 brown tunic into his girdle as he stooped to his work. 
 His curved, thick, hairy legs were bare. The evening 
 sun's last rays, slanted through the tall prickly hedge, 
 speckled him with flitting spots of light and patches of 
 purple shade. He rested his spade upon the soil, put 
 his sandalled foot upon it, and pressed it deep down 
 with deliberate oxlike strength and weight. 
 
 Hyrcanus above, haunted by dead illusions, harassed 
 by old clinging thoughts of blood and treachery, 
 watched the peaceful labours of this humble worker and 
 envied him. He lingered long at the window. 
 
 It grew towards night. 
 
 Dusk had fallen upon the garden, when there entered 
 it from the road a thin man trudging on a staff. He let 
 himself quietly in at the gate as one familiar with the 
 place. 
 
 Lazarus, who worked by the day in the fields and 
 vineyards of others, was husbanding the remnant of light 
 for his own planting. He was stooped with his back 
 towards the gate. 
 
 The stranger, halting as if weary and footsore, spoke 
 a low word. 
 
 At once the labourer sprang up with a cry, ran, and 
 fell upon the other's neck like one beside himself for 
 joy. Martha and Mary too came flying from the house. 
 The stranger embraced them all affectionately after the 
 custom of the country. 
 
 Hyrcanus peered down to discern what manner of 
 person that welcome guest might be. But twilight had 
 spread its obscuring veil over the garden. He per-
 
 BETHANY 139 
 
 ceived dimly that the man's garments were poor and 
 much whitened by dust from long journeying, his face 
 dark, thin, and bearded, his form wasted and bent as 
 if with bearing of burdens. He heard a murmur of a 
 low voice singularly sweet-toned. 
 
 Wonderful was the joy which this one's coming 
 brought to that humble household. But mingled with 
 their gladness was an obvious apprehension. Lazarus 
 ran to the gate, spread his broad palm level above his 
 eyes, and looked up and down the road. Thereafter 
 they all came quickly into the house. 
 
 Hyrcanus laid himself upon his bed and slept. 
 
 After some hours of slumber he awoke, disturbed by 
 a mutter of cautious voices beneath his window, and 
 rising and looking out, saw darkly a throng of people 
 in the garden. 
 
 As he listened, his ear detected behind him a stealthy 
 hand at the latch-string of the door of his room. He, 
 supposing then it was some plot against his life, un- 
 sheathed his jewel-hilted dagger, the only weapon 
 remaining to him, and waited. 
 
 But the door was not opened. Instead it seemed to 
 be made fast; and presently a slow bare foot retreated 
 softly downstairs. 
 
 Time crept on, grew to an hour, and still n( body 
 ascended to his room. 
 
 He began to perceive that the concourse below must 
 be about some matter not connected with his presence in 
 the house. 
 
 Incidents had occurred during his long sickness which 
 had more than once led him to suspect that the home
 
 140 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 of Lazarus was a meeting-place for some eranos or 
 thiasos. Although Judea had been specially exempt 
 from the provisions of the Roman law forbidding or- 
 ganizations of working-people except for burial serv- 
 ices, 2 the hostility of the optimates to such dangerous 
 unions had driven the membership under a cloak of 
 secrecy. The rapid spread of cheap slave-labour as one 
 result of the Roman world-conquest had brought intol- 
 erable poverty upon the free labourers, who under the 
 leadership of their various Jcurioi or chosen industrial 
 chiefs were struggling obscurely to relieve their con- 
 dition. 
 
 An unusual event seemed to have brought these poor 
 people together in the night. The room below seemed 
 to be filled with them. They were all very still, atten- 
 tively listening. One clear voice had begun to speak. 
 
 It was the voice of him who had greeted Lazarus in 
 the garden. The thick mud-walls, the shut door, the 
 occasional whimpers of a sleepy child, the slight move- 
 ments and clearing of throats, all the multitudinous 
 little sounds which murmur through the quietest crowd, 
 could not entirely drown it. Hyrcanus above, by 
 strained listening, caught some of the words. 
 
 The voice was speaking of a new kingdom shortly to 
 be set up. 
 
 To those oppressed workers and their wives, ill- 
 clothed, scantily fed, dubious even of obtaining to-mor- 
 row's food, to those hearts discouraged with the strug- 
 gle to exist against adverse conditions, it was a 
 proclamation of hope. One by one were named those 
 to whom the new kingdom would bring a blessing :
 
 BETHANY 141 
 
 the exhausted, 3 the mournful or discouraged, the lowly 4 
 or suppressed, those that were hungering and thirsting 
 for justice, 5 the merciful, the sincere and honest of 
 heart, 6 the peaceable workers, 7 and the victims of in- 
 justice. 8 
 
 The listeners were told that unless their justice ex- 
 ceeded that of the Scribes and Pharisees, they could 
 never achieve 9 the new kingdom. And thereupon new 
 principles and rules for accomplishing justice in that 
 new commonwealth were expounded to them. And 
 finally they were urged to take no anxious thought of 
 the morrow as to food, drink, or clothing, but to seek 
 primarily the establishing of this new kingdom and new 
 system of justice, and then the things they lacked would 
 be supplied unto them. 
 
 Hearing or half-hearing the marvellous discourse, 
 Hyrcanus felt his head bursting with incredible ideas. 
 
 That the downtrodden labourers and slaves upon 
 whose misery the lords of earth trod as upon a carpet, 
 vying with one another in wastefulness, luxury, and 
 pride, that these lowly ones should aspire to freedom, 
 was not of itself unbelievable. There had been slave 
 insurrections and labour revolts in the past, bloodily 
 suppressed and punished by wholesale crucifixions, as 
 for example the uprising of Aristonicus at Pergamos. 
 
 But herein was the amazing phenomenon : that these 
 lowly labourers should attempt to set up a new king- 
 dom under no king but God, 'that they should devise 
 a new scheme of justice to end the extortions and merci- 
 less struggles amongst all men and establish a universal 
 brotherhood !
 
 His head unprepared could not contain that gigantic 
 thought. His brain reeled with the effort. The 
 speaker's words, musical with soft cadences and subtle 
 shades of expression, flamed upon his mind like thunder- 
 bolts, rending and splintering all former conceptions. 
 
 It was too much for the weakened body. A profound 
 lassitude compelled Hyrcanus to creep back to his bed. 
 He sank upon it and passed instantly to something be- 
 twixt swoon and slumber.
 
 n 
 
 AT the first flush of dawn, the prince was awakened 
 by the house-door opening beneath his window. 
 Lazarus went forth to the fields whistling. The 
 cheerful clatter and talk of Martha could be heard in 
 the kitchen, and the cluck of hens that Mary fed at the 
 doorstep. 
 
 That strange, wonderful voice heard in the darkness 
 was gone like a dream. The murmurous noise of many 
 people was gone too. 
 
 It must all have been imaginary. It was inconceiv- 
 able that such a thing had really occurred. By much 
 thinking Hyrcanus had well-nigh convinced himself it 
 was only a dream, when he heard Mary coming up. 
 
 She opened the door and entered with an ewer of 
 water to minister to his wants. 
 
 " Thou didst hold me a prisoner throughout the night, 
 Mary," he said. 
 
 She knelt by the bed and watched anxiously for signs 
 of his displeasure. But when she saw that he smiled, 
 she smiled, as in water face answers to face. 
 
 "Let not thy heart be angry, dear lord. Guests 
 came to us in the night, so that our house was filled 
 with them. Now we had been warned by thee to reveal 
 thy hiding-place to no man, and so out of fear that 
 
 some one of our guests might by chance enter thy room 
 
 143
 
 144 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 and find thee, Lazarus came softly up and made fast 
 thy door." 
 
 " Who were those guests ? What came they for to 
 see? " 
 
 Mary, of the most humble birth, retained unavoidably 
 a certain awe and dread of Hyrcanus, knowing him to 
 be of the cruel and bloody line of Asmonean kings. But 
 in this homely awkward woman of the people dwelt the 
 divine instinct of motherhood. Hyrcanus had become 
 as her own child to her through his illness. She had 
 nursed him. She had poured out upon him the love of 
 her great mother-heart till she had begun to understand 
 his moods as the skilled fisher the fickle moods of the 
 sea. 
 
 So now instead of replying she patted his shoulder and 
 continued to anoint his hurts in silence. 
 
 " Thou answereth me not," he said after a pause. 
 " Thinketh thou these walls so thick then? Start not, 
 Mary, I feel thy fingers tremble on my breast. In 
 the night I heard a voice speaking! It was . . . How 
 may I describe that voice ! The words, the sound thereof, 
 coursed through the pulses of my blood like wine! I 
 was as in the days of my youth when the secret of God 
 was upon my tabernacle. Who was he ? Who was that 
 one, Mary ? If thou lovest me, speak ! " 
 
 Mary desisted from her task to gaze at him with 
 earnest looks. 
 
 " Nay, I do love thee ! " she faltered. " Thou know- 
 est I love thee! But how may I speak when I have 
 promised to say naught ! " 
 
 " Who then will tell me?
 
 BETHANY 145 
 
 At his frown, of displeasure her soft eyes welled un- 
 shed tears. 
 
 " Dear lord, wait thou until Barjona returneth. But 
 now wilt thou promise me ... I know my lord would 
 not see Martha and Lazarus and me haled before the 
 Sanhedrim by the Serjeants of the Temple. . . ." 
 
 " As God liveth, they shall not pluck a hair of your 
 heads ! Those cursed doctors-of-law ! I will tear them 
 out of their skins ! " 
 
 " Thou needst not to kill ! thou needst but prom- 
 ise!" 
 
 " Whatsoever thou wilt, Mary ! to the cutting off 
 of my right hand for thee ! " 
 
 She smiled at his vehemence, patting his hand. 
 
 " Promise to say naught of what thou hast heard in 
 the night." 
 
 " By the living God I swear it ! Death shall not pull 
 it from my tongue ! " 
 
 " Nay, not so much as that ! " She looked aghast, 
 between her smiles. " Thou mayest speak of it with 
 Barjona. And after the Passover, thou mayest tell it 
 to all the world." 
 
 " Upon thy Barjona thou makest all the earth to 
 hang! May I be crucified! Ere I open my lips thou 
 referrest me to Barjona! Doth thy Barjona carry all 
 the Law and the prophets between his teeth ! " 
 
 " Nay, be patient ! " said Mary laughing. 
 
 The weeks of idleness were a sore trial to the heart 
 of Hyrcanus. 
 
 Most of all he chafed at not knowing the manner 
 of his escape from Shealtiel's house. This mystery
 
 146 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 fretted him, and sometimes his fiery temper leaped 
 forth, at which the muscled legs of Lazarus shook 
 and Martha fled away and Mary wept. Yet they stub- 
 bornly guarded their secret under his fierce reproaches. 
 
 He was learning much, however, in this strange school 
 of love. His imperious disposition began to find new 
 reservoirs of self-control. And meantime the bright, 
 placid current of days, the still procession of nights, in 
 that little household at Bethany, fast healed his wounds. 
 He was young, his constitution was of iron. He began 
 to regain his vigour. 
 
 He was able at length to descend to the garden, sup- 
 ported on both sides by the stout arms of Lazarus and 
 Mary. 
 
 Through many an afternoon he sat in the garden un- 
 der the flicker of olive-boughs, listened to the rustle of 
 leaves and the quick bird-calls far and near, and wel- 
 comed on his thinned cheek the breezes that poured over 
 the sun-glad slope of Olivet. 
 
 Lazarus sometimes hoed and weeded near-by among 
 the melons and paused to drop a word or two of weather- 
 wisdom. Sometimes Martha ran out for a minute of 
 brisk household prattle, tucking her hands in her gown. 
 And often Mary came, sat down at his feet, and was 
 silent. 
 
 More often however he was alone. He would sit mus- 
 ing on his fallen fortunes, his lost kingdom, the triumph 
 of his enemies, Barabbas yonder in prison. And more 
 than once he seemed to hear again that haunting cry, 
 
 " Save me, Master! I served iheel Thou owest me 
 this! "
 
 BETHANY 147 
 
 Again, as he pondered those events, he recalled the 
 apparition of the maid of Siloam holding aloft a waver- 
 ing rush-light, which had appeared to him in the ex- 
 tremity of his despair. He now firmly believed her his 
 familiar spirit. 
 
 Nor was it singular that he should imagine himself 
 thus attended and guarded. The superstition of the 
 period filled the air with demons, malignant and other- 
 wise. His great ancestors, Judas Maccabeus, John 
 Hyrcanus, Aristobulus, and the terrible Alexander Jan- 
 neus were the subject of many popular tales. Tradi- 
 tion had surrounded all those former kings with 
 miraculous influences. It was but proper that he also, 
 the last of that mighty race, should enjoy a special 
 providence not vouchsafed to common persons. 
 
 In the calm, sunny afternoons under the olives, 
 screened from the village road by the tall close-set hedge 
 of prickly pear, he mused upon his past adventures as 
 one who gazes across a wide gulf of time. 
 
 The fifteenth day, as he sat on a bench in the garden, 
 the gate opened and a dusty wayfarer entered, a vig- 
 orous man, rather heavy-set, of middle age, in worn 
 Galilean garb, with a rugged face and red beard that 
 Hyrcanus remembered. 
 
 Illness had wasted and whitened the prince's features 
 and he wore a plain coarse cloak like a labourer of 
 Bethany. But this sturdy intruder came straight up 
 to him, and with a slight frown of scrutiny said, 
 
 *' Blessed be God, thou hast lost much flesh, yet art 
 alive ! I scarce thought to find breath in thy body." 
 
 Hyrcanus rose up and embraced the man.
 
 148 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Thou art Simon Barjona! " he cried. 
 
 Whereat the other laughed, growling a little in sup- 
 prise. 
 
 " Yea, strong art thou ! Thin but strong ! Thou 
 pullest me about like the great fish of Gadara that break- 
 eth nets." 
 
 " Strangle me with those nets if I stir one step, or 
 thou, Simon Barjona, until thou answer me this: 
 how broughtest thou me out of Shealtiel's house and out 
 of the walled city by night ? " 
 
 " By Solomon's quarries underneath the city I bore 
 thee on my back. Thy blood dripped all the way. One 
 that hath a lighted candle or lamp, such as we had on 
 that night, may go thus underneath the city even unto 
 the ancient water-tunnel of Hezekiah. There we stayed 
 and bound up thy wounds somewhat. But peace ! I 
 must breathe ! Thy arms compress my ribs ! " 
 
 " I loose thee not until thou tell me all ! " 
 
 " Lo, then. This ancient tunnel hath also an outlet 
 below the city wall into the valley of Hinnom. Callest 
 thou to mind that time when in the darkness of Gehenna 
 I tripped thee and thou with thy knife. . . . See, this 
 is the very staff wherewith I tripped thee ! Now where 
 thou fellest was but a stone's toss from the opening, 
 which hath been used by thieves these many years." 
 
 " How borest thou me out of the burning house ? And 
 how earnest thou to be therein ? Speak ! " 
 
 Barjona's sun-blackened big hand tugged at his red 
 beard. He frowned at Hyrcanus through a smile. 
 
 " Thou mightest puzzle till the world's end, never 
 mightest thou hit upon the truth unless I revealed it
 
 BETHANY 149 
 
 unto thee." A moment he stood silent, seeming to 
 frown down some doubt. " Nay, wherefore should I 
 not ? Is not that house a ruinous heap ! Are not all 
 they that dwelt therein dead or scattered! Behold, 
 then, Hyrcanus! In an upper chamber of that house 
 was a door set in the wall. It was cunningly contrived 
 by the builder in the days of Alexander Janneus to turn 
 upon smooth stones. None might discover it by the 
 eye. Yet might one descend thus through the wall into 
 the bowels of the earth. And of all that great house- 
 hold one only, an old slave woman, remembered the 
 secret of the door. Kedemah was her name. Dead is 
 she now like the others." 
 
 " Kedemah ! " said Hyrcanus, reflecting. " An an- 
 cient yellow . . ." 
 
 " Nay, hearken ! Kedemah was an initiate of an 
 eranos, and thereby she learned of the new kingdom. 
 Oft came she secretly by that door to be with us at our 
 gatherings. And Kedemah having in charge a little 
 maid instructed her also. Thus it was." The stout 
 fisherman looked up and down with an awkward touch of 
 embarrassment. " Thus was I brought to thy rescue 
 even as now I would be brought to a cup of water ! " he 
 added gruffly. " Pray, loose thy hold ! My tongue is 
 parched from much talking." 
 
 But Hyrcanus held him fast. 
 
 " God's splendour ! Thinkest thou to end thus ? 
 Not a drop shall cool thy lip until thou answer me fully ! 
 Who brought thee into the house to save me? If not 
 Kedemah, was it then the little maid? By what name 
 is she called? "
 
 150 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Thou carest not, or thou carest too much ! " ex- 
 claimed Barjona with defiance. " Far away is she now 
 and safe amongst friends. Not a hair of her head 
 mightest thou harm. . . ." 
 
 " Speak her name, wretch, ere I strangle thee ! " cried 
 Hyrcanus. 
 
 " Of a truth thou art strong ! " stammered Bar j ona. 
 " Nay, spare my cloak ! I have none other. The maid 
 I will tell thee she was a daughter of Shealtiel by 
 his wedded wife. Bernice was she named, and thou didst 
 first encounter her by chance at the pool of Siloam." 
 
 " Bernice ! " muttered the prince, and again, " Ber- 
 nice ! " And he let go of the man and stood dumb- 
 founded. 
 
 " She too was of the new kingdom of God. And being 
 diligent in our work, she oft put on that common garment 
 in which thou beheldest her, that she might go about the 
 streets unknown." 
 
 " Bernice sayest thou ! " muttered Hyrcanus once 
 more, gasping and putting his hand to his eyes. 
 
 " Yea. The night thou sawest her by the pool, she 
 perceiving thy Galilean cloak mistakenly believed thee 
 to be our messenger from Capernaum." 
 
 " But when Shealtiel's daughter danced before 
 me. . . ." 
 
 " She had painted and marred her face to deceive thine 
 eye. Oft hath she laughed telling of thy dismay." 
 
 " Then it was indeed that one ! Almost I knew her ! 
 . . . But being drunk with wine I pushed the thought 
 from me as folly. . . . O Bernice ! . . . And the vision 
 and the voice in the room! Speak, Barjona, speak!
 
 BETHANY 151 
 
 For every word thou givest me of her I will pluck thee 
 down a star from heaven ! Speak ! " 
 
 " Oft she used that ancient door, which was in that 
 upper room, to depart secretly from the house. For 
 in the work of the new kingdom one regardeth not father 
 nor mother." 
 
 " It was Bernice then who saved me ? " 
 
 " Nay, she would have saved all within her father's 
 house. But she being amongst us at the time returned 
 too late. She found thee only, and dragged thee into 
 the wall and hid thee even as the Roman soldiers came. 
 Then she summoned me. And I took thee on my shoul- 
 ders as a shepherd a lost sheep. And she going before 
 with the lamp, we bore thee to safety and life." 
 
 Barjona laughed joyously. 
 
 But Hyrcanus, who had stood listening like one en- 
 tranced, clapped his hand to his temple suddenly and 
 uttered a loud cry. The blood rushed to his head. His 
 face became black and swollen. 
 
 " I saw her in the house of the harlot ! " He began 
 to tear his hair. " Perish the day wherein I saw her ! 
 Oh, that she were dust of the ground! And I also! 
 Let Gehenna consume that day with fire ! Oh, the bit- 
 terness of my soul ! Why died I not ere now ! Why is 
 light given unto him that is in misery ! " 
 
 As he raved, his cries and groans were heard in the 
 little house. Mary came running out. She sank upon 
 her knees at his feet, clasped his knees, and looked up 
 into his face. 
 
 " Weep not, dear lord, for then must I weep too ! " 
 she implored, the tears trickling fast down her cheeks.
 
 152 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 At last grown quieter, he laid his hand upon that 
 loving head. 
 
 Barjona had stood meantime shifting his rough fists up 
 and down his staff. Finally he found voice. 
 
 " Art thou wholly mad ! " he growled. " What devil 
 hath entered thee! Art thou not ashamed to drink up 
 slanders like new wine! Art thou not ashamed, say I! 
 Why sharpen thy tongue on the little maid as on a 
 whetstone ! " 
 
 " The Magdalene . . ." 
 
 " Thou sawest her in the house of the Magdalene? 
 But were harlots and wine-bibbers assembled there? 
 Was not Lazarus there that night? Was not Martha? 
 Yea, and this Mary that claspeth thy knees ? Proclaim- 
 est thou such an one like unto an harlot ? " 
 
 " But the Magdalene ! " shouted Hyrcanus wildly, 
 rolling his eyes. 
 
 " Mary Magdalene hath repented her of her former 
 way of life. Her heart hath been born again." 
 
 " How may a heart be born again ! " 
 
 " When it is cleansed of its vile and greedy lusts and 
 hatreds and is filled with the love of service unto others." 
 
 " Can a clean thing come out of an unclean ! " 
 
 " Cometh not the lily of the valley up out of the dung 
 and mud? So hath the heart of the Magdalene arisen 
 out of its former abominations when she was called unto 
 the work of the new kingdom." 
 
 " Who is such an one that can thus change the heart ! " 
 
 " It is our kurios Jesus, the carpenter." 
 
 Hyrcanus looked at the rough speaker a while, breath- 
 ing hard. The fire in his eyes slowly faded out. He
 
 BETHANY 153 
 
 pressed his hands to his brow and sank upon the bench. 
 For some moments he sat silent. 
 
 " Go ! " he said at last in a low voice, and motioned 
 them away. " Leave me. These be strange sayings 
 ... I would be alone now. My thoughts weigh heavily 
 upon me. It is too much. ... I am weaker than I had 
 reckoned." 
 
 They left him. 
 
 Long he sat alone under the trees, leaning his cheek 
 on his wasted hand, submerged in thought. 
 
 Day faded away. The evening star prevailed. 
 Dew gathered on the grass and leaves. And still he sat 
 there among the deepening shadows. 
 
 At last came Mary quietly and took him by the hand 
 and led him to his chamber. He followed her without 
 resistance, laid himself upon his bed, and closed his eyes. 
 
 Simon Barjona rested that night at Bethany and at 
 morning arose to continue on his way. He ascended 
 to the little upper chamber to bid Hyrcanus farewell. 
 
 Hyrcanus would have pressed upon him money and 
 jewels. But Simon shook his red beard. 
 
 " Our kurios hath sent us forth to this work carrying 
 neither purse nor scrip like unto the Essenes and other 
 eranoi that share all things in common." 
 
 " Unto whom are ye sent? " 
 
 " Unto the poor and all that labour and are heavy- 
 laden, the lost sheep of Israel." 
 
 " Have ye no place in your new kingdom for the 
 rich?" 
 
 " Few of the rich and mighty consent to hear of the 
 new kingdom. Jesus likens it to a marriage-feast where
 
 154 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 the rich and great being first invited made light of it, 
 and their places were filled by the poor from the high- 
 ways." Barjona rested his bearded chin on the top of 
 his staff and reflected a moment with a grim sort of 
 smile. " I bethink me," said he, " of that rich ruler 
 beyond Jordan that showed an inclination for a little 
 while to hearken unto us. But when the Jcurios required 
 of him that he first give up all his private possessions, 
 he turned from us. Then said the kurios, c How squeam- 
 ishly 10 shall they that have riches enter into God's 
 kingdom ! ' : 
 
 Hyrcanus regarded the man's broken sandals and 
 patched cloak. 
 
 " Thou endurest much now, Simon. But if thy new 
 kingdom be set up, thy reward will be great. Thou 
 wilt then take thine ease and compel others to labour 
 and supply thy wants." 
 
 But the fisherman, sturdily squaring his shoulders, 
 shook his red beard. 
 
 " Nay, I know not. Jesus oft teacheth us in para- 
 bles. He hath likened the new kingdom to a vineyard 
 wherein some labour from early morning, being first 
 hired ; others are hired at the third hour ; and others who 
 have stood idle in the market-place because no man hath 
 hired them, labour from the sixth and ninth and eleventh 
 hours. Yet is every man paid his full day's wage, 
 whether he hath laboured throughout the day or hath 
 but stood ready to work. I may not altogether perceive 
 the meaning. But it may be that in the new kingdom 
 will be neither rich nor poor, neither lord nor beggar. 
 Each shall give according to his strength and as he is
 
 BETHANY 155 
 
 required, and all shall receive according to their needs. 
 . . . But lo, the sun cometh up ! I must go ! " 
 And he embraced Hyrcanus and departed.
 
 Ill 
 
 HYRCANUS lay hid in the little house and fenced 
 garden at Bethany, slowly regaining strength. 
 With the new moon of Chislev he prepared to 
 journey back to the robber-infested hills of Gilead where 
 he would be safe from the Pharisees or Romans. But 
 he lingered on from day to day, reluctant to burst the 
 tender meshes which the love and heart-service of this 
 humble household had woven. 
 
 The parting came at last somewhat of the suddenest. 
 
 One evening Lazarus ran in, the breathless bearer of 
 alarming news. A rumour had spread throughout Je- 
 rusalem that Hyrcanus was alive, not buried beneath 
 the ruins of Shealtiel's house as first supposed, but 
 wounded and lying concealed somewhere near. It was 
 the topic of the hour at the bazaars and market-places. 
 The Pharisees were in turmoil over it. Roman bands 
 had already searched several suspected houses. 
 
 How this rumour started none knew. But, hearing 
 of it, the prince quickly put on some coarse brown gar- 
 ments, bound a pair of leather sandals to his feet, seized 
 a staff and a scrip, pressed the heads of Mary and 
 Martha in farewell, and issued forth. 
 
 Lazarus guided him behind the village by hedged 
 fields and gardens, and set his feet upon the road to 
 Jericho. The good, simple man embraced his departing 
 
 guest. 
 
 156
 
 BETHANY 157 
 
 " A cloud draweth up from the south," he muttered, 
 peering uneasily about. " It will be a dark night for 
 thee, yea, dark! The mountain path is rough and 
 steep. ... I like not this stillness of the air." He 
 paused a moment with his face turned aside to listen. 
 There was a barking of dogs in the village behind them. 
 " Hear thou how loud soundeth that noise ! A storm is 
 rising. Nay ! " he cried impulsively, " I will go with 
 thee yet a little way, even to the top of the hill." 
 
 He accompanied Hyrcanus thus far, embraced him 
 again, and bade him farewell, but then decided to con- 
 tinue with him to the foot of the hill. And so he might 
 have gone on and on, had not Hyrcanus stopped him. 
 
 " O my friend, thou hast laboured to-day in the fields. 
 Rob not thy night of rest. Return now, for all ways 
 must end at a parting, be it soon or late. God be with 
 thee ! " 
 
 "With thee ! with thee ! " said Lazarus, and em- 
 braced him, and went back. 
 
 But presently, as Hyrcanus walked onward in the twi- 
 light, he heard a sound of feet running, and faced about. 
 Lazarus came up once more, panting. 
 
 " Take thou this staff ! it is stouter than thine ! 
 the paths are steep. Dark will be the night ! And 
 this quiet in the air I like it not. Guard thy steps 
 well ! And there be strong thieves abroad." 
 
 They embraced a last time and departed. 
 
 Hyrcanus set his face towards the east. At his back 
 were the darkling hills of Jerusalem, before him the arid, 
 grewsome mountains. A few streaked clouds overhead 
 reflected a sullen remnant of day in reddish colour. But
 
 158 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 the gloom of night thickened upon the face of the earth. 
 The path to Jericho led down into rocky river-beds, 
 across deep gullies carved by winter torrents, and finally 
 ascended among the mountains of the wilderness. 
 
 That region has been called the saddest in the world. 
 Under the fast-fading light the landscape appeared ex- 
 traordinarily grandiose, fierce, and repulsive. The 
 cliffs, white and bleak, and the vast rain-cut precipices 
 wore a starved, ignoble vegetation. Stunted brown 
 bushes grew there like blotches on the face of nature. 
 
 It was the secure abode of desolation. From the un- 
 cultivated hills a famished jackal yelped. Ravens 
 flapped across Hyrcanus's path, flying swift and low 
 with sharp cries, as if in fear of the storm that had 
 begun to grumble behind the crags. Horned and 
 bearded goat-heads, black against the sky-line, leered 
 down over the heights at the solitary traveller, chuckled 
 ominously, and vanished. 
 
 A thick white mist rose out of the gulf where the 
 brook Cherith splashed below. It became more and 
 more difficult for Hyrcanus to see the path. As he 
 trudged on, he felt often before him with his staff. 
 Owlets and bats, that seemed confused by the fog, 
 swooped squeaking about his head. 
 
 The wind had fallen dead among the hills. The 
 peculiar stillness of the atmosphere carried noises far. 
 Everything sounded startlingly distinct. 
 
 Hyrcanus stopped short of a sudden and listened. 
 His ear had caught something like a faint clash as 
 though a shield had fallen upon the rocks. 
 
 He stood with every sense alert. Above him in the
 
 BETHANY 169 
 
 mist and darkness a voice growled out a Latin oath. 
 Other voices echoed it. And now he began to hear a 
 trampling and slipping of iron-shod hoofs. 
 
 A band of Roman soldiers were descending the steep 
 mountain-road, cursing the black night and invoking 
 their gods. 
 
 Hyrcanus looked about for some refuge. 
 
 His sharp eyes discovered a goat-track leading down 
 to the brook Cherith, whose torrent, elate with recent 
 rains, plunged hoarsely among boulders far beneath. 
 
 Down he clambered in all haste. The Romans were 
 already rounding a point of rock above in the narrow 
 defile; they were leading their horses and carrying 
 flaming links, around which golden aureoles bloomed in 
 the thick air. To keep beyond this illumination, Hyr- 
 canus, being pledged to the downward track, descended 
 lower and lower. 
 
 He planted his staff in crevices of the rocks and felt 
 cautiously for footing. Thus he came down to the 
 foaming Cherith. 
 
 The advancing torches flung fitful flashes into the 
 deep chasm ; and by that light he discerned some natural 
 stepping-stones across the brook and a narrow projec- 
 tion or ledge that wound gradually up the rough face 
 of the opposite cliff. 
 
 There was no help for it. He achieved the farther 
 side by leaping from boulder to boulder. 
 
 But now as he ascended the ledge, he was conscious of 
 a sudden portentous change in the atmosphere. 
 
 A mighty wind poured through the chasm, and be- 
 gan to drive the fog, which fled in grey phantoms around
 
 160 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 the ribs of the cliff. Melancholy murmurs awoke, con- 
 fused hollow noises above the splash of waters. 
 
 The Romans passed down the narrow mountain-road 
 on the other side of the chasm without perceiving the 
 fugitive who watched them. They were holding up 
 their lighted links to see their way. The timid horses 
 snorted and hung back against the steep grade. 
 Finally a curve of the hill shut them all from view and 
 the scudding mist blotted out the last gleam of their 
 torches. 
 
 Hyrcanus waited a while, listening to the rattle of 
 loosened gravel and gruff foreign oaths. At last only 
 the rush of agitated water and sighing of the wind re- 
 mained. 
 
 But now the listener was startled by a loud abrupt 
 peal of thunder. The storm that had been muttering 
 behind the mountains was about to break. He sought 
 hastily some sort of shelter. A first flicker of lightning 
 revealed in the living rock the mouth of a little cave, 
 perhaps the selfsame spot where of old Elijah was fed 
 by ravens. 
 
 Any refuge would suffice. He crept within, loosed 
 his girdle, and laid aside his food-bulging scrip. Under 
 the low-hanging roof of rock he crouched on one knee 
 and waited. 
 
 The storm seemed to be rolling on and on. The 
 great wind rushed and rumbled through the chasm 
 with deep hollow moans. In that sound was a wailing 
 of innumerable peoples and tongues, a vast outcry of 
 earth. Leaves and twigs flew by the cave-mouth like 
 flocks of grotesque night-spirits frightened from their
 
 BETHANY 161 
 
 dark haunts by the pallid flickers on the upper rocks. 
 
 The rim of the on-sweeping thundercloud pushed out 
 over the mountain's naked head. It erased the stars as 
 if a hand had dashed water on the embers of a fire. 
 
 While Hyrcanus crouched and waited, his ear began 
 to be tormented by a peculiar little noise of advancing 
 footsteps. 
 
 In the pauses of the wind, nay, sharply pene- 
 trating the wind like a needle through thick cloth, he 
 seemed always to hear that tread. 
 
 It was an eternal sound of feet, weary and patient, 
 that toiled on and on through the night. It seemed to 
 tell of some solitary wanderer among the hills. The 
 shrillest buffeting of the storm carried the quiet sound 
 of those footsteps; and when at intervals the wind 
 abruptly perished, still they could be heard. Now they 
 were clearer, now fainter, as if the noises were tossed 
 by wayward eddies of air which haunted the winding 
 walls of the chasm. 
 
 At moments the feet seemed to falter, about to halt, 
 too tired to go on, or uncertain of the path. But 
 then they always continued, stumbling, unsteady, slow, 
 a dead lift of effort. 
 
 This weary reiteration, whether sharply distinct or 
 almost lost amid the hurrying voices of the storm, ex- 
 pressed always an anguish of failing strength. It was 
 mournful beyond all human sorrow. It seemed to say 
 that he who walked there in darkness strained beneath 
 the weight of the whole world, contending against all the 
 leagued powers of death and elemental nature. 
 
 Hyrcanus listening to those unearthly footfalls laid a
 
 162 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 tremulous hand upon his dagger-hilt. His eyes dilated. 
 The hair prickled on his head. 
 
 " Who cometh! " he ejaculated at last. " What seek 
 ye here ! " 
 
 A tired and gentle voice replied to him out of the 
 darkness. 
 
 " Foxes have holes and birds of the air nests, but the 
 son of man hath not where to lay his head." 
 
 Lightning blazed whitely from cliff to cliff. A ter- 
 rific thunderpeal reverberated. In the blinding sheet of 
 light, Hyrcanus beheld on the narrow ledge outside the 
 cave a dark, thin form, bent forward, moving against 
 the mighty wind with back-blown garments. 
 
 " Peace be unto thee ! " he cried. 
 
 " And unto thee ! " 
 
 "Enter!" he said then joyfully. "Enter, for I 
 know thy voice! Be without fear." He reached out 
 and drew the stranger in by the sleeve. The first large 
 drops of rain were striking against the cliff. " Art 
 not thou," he demanded, " that carpenter of Nazareth 
 that proclaimeth a new kingdom?" 
 
 " Thou hast said." 
 
 " Nay then, may fire consume me ! thou 'hast 
 naught to fear. I will chop like barley-straw him that 
 layeth so much as a finger on thee! Art thou an 
 hungered? Here is meat." He opened his scrip. 
 " Bread and figs wilt thou find in abundance. Eat and 
 be filled. The food cometh from the house of thy 
 friends at Bethany." 
 
 That other sat down against the side of the cave to
 
 BETHANY 163 
 
 rest, and having given thanks broke the bread and began 
 to eat. 
 
 Outside, the elements waged for a while a furious 
 conflict. Then the fire-flashing front of the storm rolled 
 on over the crags. Afterwards was to be heard chiefly 
 the loud pouring of rain and, below, the hoarse splash- 
 ing of Cherith. 
 
 Hyrcanus peered forward in an effort to discern the 
 carpenter's features. A last flicker of lightning re- 
 vealed the dark, wasted countenance. The carpenter 
 sat on the floor of the cave supporting his heavy brow 
 upon his hand. The picture was glimpsed and lost, all 
 in a flash. 
 
 " Rabbi ! " cried Hyrcanus. " I perceive thou diest 
 of fatigue. Yet ere thou sleep I would ask concerning 
 a matter, if so thou will? or wilt thou that I wait 
 till the morrow ? " 
 
 " Ask now, for who knoweth what the morrow may 
 bring forth ! " 
 
 " I heard thee speaking, Rabbi, at Bethany in the 
 night. Long have I pondered thy words. They 
 trouble my head. In the watches of the night when 
 sleep hath fallen on other men, thy words come oft to 
 abide with me. I know thy purpose to abase the proud 
 and rich and lift up the lowly in thy new kingdom, till 
 all men shall be as brethren. But how then ? Will not 
 the strong men and cunning take away again little by 
 little the goods of the simple and weak and finally 
 trample them again underfoot? I perceive the last 
 stage of thy kingdom to be but as now. Or hast thou
 
 164 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 some new law whereby to keep thy people in the way! 
 What new justice dost thou proclaim! What new law 
 dost thou decree ! " 
 
 The carpenter's quiet voice answered, 
 
 " Is not this such a law ? As ye would that men 
 should do to you, do ye also to them." 
 
 A silence followed that was not broken for some time. 
 The rain had ceased. The dwindling thunders of the 
 storm rumbled beyond the hills. From across the 
 chasm an owl began to hoot shrilly. 
 
 Hyrcanus sighed. At last he muttered, 
 
 " There rush over me lights mingled with shadows. I 
 would ask . . . Nay, do thou sleep now. I will think. 
 Here is stuff for much thinking." 
 
 And he went out and sat by the cave door. 
 
 The moon had appeared. It was raining showers of 
 glory down the wet glistening black cliffs. Where 
 Cherith brawled below in darkness, jackals yelped, 
 creeping out again in search of prey. The owl across 
 the chasm continued at intervals its sharp wavering 
 hoots. 
 
 Hyrcanus drew his mantle close about him against the 
 air, which was much colder after the storm. He 
 dropped his chin upon his breast. 
 
 From long meditation he must have passed unawares 
 into troubled sleep. It seemed that he stood again in 
 the thick of the struggle at Shealtiel's gate, hewing and 
 thrusting at Roman shields. Suddenly rang in his ears 
 a wild, gasping cry, 
 
 " Save me, Master! I served theef Thou owest me 
 this! "
 
 BETHANY 165 
 
 " As God liveth, I will save thee, Barabbas ! " 
 
 With the effort to reply he awoke himself, his lips 
 still shaping the words. 
 
 Morning had come. He was numb with cold. On 
 the hilltops, veiled in thin mist, a grey clear light had 
 spread which penetrated even to the bottom of the 
 chasm. Twitters and bird-calls sounded in the bushes 
 all about. 
 
 The little cave behind him was empty. 
 
 But as he lifted his eyes, he saw far up the opposite 
 hill-side the slight, bent form of the carpenter trudging 
 towards the south. 
 
 He was still looking, when the distant figure reached 
 the summit and turned and waved a hand in farewell. 
 The first bright arrows of the sun flashed at that mo- 
 ment upon the spot. In the golden radiance a flock of 
 little birds, quite unafraid, flew circling about the bare 
 head of the carpenter.
 
 IV 
 
 HYRCANUS went down through the desolate 
 mountains towards Jericho, the splendid city of 
 palaces and palms that lay in the great plain 
 to the east. 
 
 As he descended, he saw in the distance columns of 
 dust along all the main-travelled roads where strings of 
 camels and asses were moving. He avoided a near ap- 
 proach to the busy gates and went around the city 
 southward by footpaths through the fields. 
 
 Here he encountered chiefly labourers with their im- 
 plements, and children that stopped to stare at the 
 stranger. Sometimes peasant women passed him, strid- 
 ing towards the city and bearing on their backs great 
 bundles of grey prickly thyme called " grass of the 
 field," and used for heating ovens. 
 
 The ground long burnt by summer heat showed a 
 tender green after the recent rains. Jericho's great 
 plantations of date-palms were cultivated by hundreds 
 upon hundreds of slaves, the spear-taken n captives 
 whose cheap enforced labour oppressed also the free 
 labourers and whose deliverance therefore was among 
 the proclamations of God's kingdom most gladly ac- 
 cepted. They toiling in the sun under taskmasters gave 
 little heed to the solitary foot-traveller. But Hyr- 
 canus paused often at the side of the field and ob- 
 served them with a new-born interest. 
 
 166
 
 BETHANY 167 
 
 It was as if scales had fallen from his eyes in the 
 night. He gazed upon the misery of those creatures 
 who produced the abundance of others, and repeated 
 with wonder, 
 
 " As thou wouldst that men should do to thee ! " 
 
 The more he revolved this saying in his mind, the 
 more fecund it seemed to grow. It developed unex- 
 pected ramifications, till he walked in an enormous 
 dream. He pictured a kingdom under such a system 
 of laws. He peopled it with men who wrought not for 
 themselves only but, like the Essenes, for the common 
 good. A kingdom without masters, without soldiers 
 such as the ones that galloped on the roads, without 
 merchants like that fat one yonder who ambled on his 
 white ass to buy cheaply at shrewd bargaining and sell 
 dearly, what a strange kingdom it would be! 
 
 No usurers, no landlords, no debtors, no slaves, no 
 beggars ! 
 
 Often he drifted to a stop in the middle of the path, 
 then started on with swifter strides. The gigantic ab- 
 surdity of the idea sometimes overwhelmed him and he 
 laughed aloud. 
 
 " As thou wouldst others should to thee ! Why, as 
 I would be king, I must therefore make all men kings ! " 
 
 He strove repeatedly to expel the thought from his 
 mind, but presently would be poring on the ground 
 again and slackening his pace. Passers-by who ob- 
 served his strange actions, mutterings, and gestures 
 judged him demented. 
 
 Musing and loitering thus he spent the whole day in 
 his journey across the great plain of Jericho. At
 
 168 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 nightfall he sought out a certain poor f reedman named 
 Timothy, dwelling not far from old Bethabara, to 
 whom Lazarus had directed him. 
 
 There he obtained food and shelter, and at daybreak 
 arose and went upon his way. 
 
 The palm-trees gave place to white desert, the desert 
 in turn to a tangled line of tamarisks and acacias ; and 
 next before his eyes rushed the strong flood of Jordan 
 between its green banks of blowing reeds. A halcyon 
 a vision of green and gold flapped out of the 
 water and sailed away towards the purple mountains 
 of Moab. 
 
 Hyrcanus had arrived at the bank of the Jordan some 
 five furlongs below the ancient ford of Bethabara, shun- 
 ning the crowds. From where he stood he could tell 
 by the glints of metal and rising dust that a numerous 
 armed caravan was even then crossing into Perea. 
 
 He divested himself of his garments, made them fast 
 upon a stick of driftwood, and pushing this before him 
 waded out into the current. 
 
 A drowned camel that seemed to have been lately 
 washed down from the ford lay against the opposite 
 bank, half in and half out of water. Three grey vul- 
 tures were already perched on its hump and on its 
 blackened charcoal pannier. As Hyrcanus waded, the 
 three soared up with screams and alighted on a dead 
 terebinth tree and fixed their fiery eyes gloatingly on 
 his white flesh. 
 
 He swam the racing current with strong quick 
 strokes, struggled to a footing in the shallow water near 
 the dead camel, and climbed out upon the bank.
 
 BETHANY 169 
 
 He reclothed himself under the green curtain of 
 bushes, and made haste to depart. 
 
 But as he pressed through the close foliage, putting 
 aside the leafy boughs from before him, he came unex- 
 pectedly on one who he saw at once had been the driver 
 of the drowned camel and had narrowly avoided its 
 fate. 
 
 The man crouched on the sand in his wet coal- 
 streaked rags, a figure of abject woe. Hearing ap- 
 proaching feet, he held up his left palm dumbly for 
 alms without so much as lifting his eyes. 
 
 Hyrcanus dropped some silver and copper coins into 
 the upstretched hand. 
 
 " What I have, unhappy one," said he, " I give thee 
 in the name of God." 
 
 But at the words the beggar started up in haste, 
 spilling the coins, glared wildly into the prince's face, 
 cast himself down on the path before him, clutched the 
 skirts of his garment, and uttered strange, harsh gut- 
 tural noises. 
 
 " What sayest thou ? " Hyrcanus asked. 
 
 He looked at the man more attentively. 
 
 The beggar's body was deformed and undersized, his 
 skin blackened both by sun and coal. A tangled mop 
 of coarse horse-like hair covered his head and partly 
 hid his face. The scars of some recent hideous torture 
 made him appear scarcely human. His right hand had 
 been struck off at the wrist. His right eye had been 
 torn out, leaving the flesh much sunken in at the socket. 
 
 " Canst thou not frame to pronounce aright ? " said 
 Hyrcanus. But the beggar opened his jaws wide and
 
 170 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 pointed in, showing a gaping cavity. " Ah, thy tongue 
 is gone ! it hath been torn from its roots. Mayest 
 thou not then by signs make known thy wants? . . ." 
 Hyrcanus stopped, stared, and of a sudden cried, 
 " Nadab ! " 
 
 It was the camel-driver. 
 
 The prince laid his hands upon the mutilated wretch's 
 head and wept. Hot tears scalded his eyes as he re- 
 membered what a sacrifice this man would have made for 
 him. 
 
 " Nadab ! Nadab ! And is it thus thou wast re- 
 paid!" 
 
 Nadab nodded, pointed to his empty eye-socket, 
 lifted his stump of arm, and gestured eloquently to- 
 wards Jerusalem. 
 
 " Who hath done this thing ! By God's wrath, I will 
 render unto him double ! Those torments he hath 
 made thee suffer shall be unto his as thy little finger 
 unto his whole body ! Who hath done it ! " 
 
 Nadab pointed towards the distant ford and the 
 crossing caravan, and wistfully scrutinised Hyrcanus's 
 face. But when he saw that his meaning was not com- 
 prehended, he traced with his finger in the sand a crude 
 sketch of a woman and on her head a fragment of a 
 crown. Thereunder he subjoined an outline of a 
 tower. 
 
 " Thou hast suffered at the hands of the daughter 
 of Herodias ? " 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 Continual fear beset the camel-driver. He arose fre- 
 quently and peered over the bushes, beckoning Hyr-
 
 
 BETHANY 171 
 
 canus meantime to remain hidden. His apprehension 
 seemed to be that search would be made for him. 
 
 But the caravan having crossed at Bethabara moved 
 on, a long, slow train of laden camels, pack-asses, and 
 armed horsemen, into the wilderness of Perea. 
 
 He became convinced at last that either he was 
 esteemed of no value or was believed to be drowned. 
 Thereupon he squatted down before Hyrcanus and com- 
 menced a narrative of his misfortunes. Adroit in the 
 use of signs, he enlarged his meaning by tracings on the 
 sand, by grunts, nasal noises, and wonderful contor- 
 tions of face and body. 
 
 He made clear how when he had escaped from Sheal- 
 tiel's house by clinging beneath the belly of his camel, 
 he had sought straightway the daughter of Herodias. 
 The Tower of Phasaelus was flashing with lights that 
 evening and noisy with mirth. A company was as- 
 sembled feasting and drinking; for the mighty Aristo- 
 bulus of Damascus had sent his envoys with rich gifts 
 asking the hand of Salome in marriage. 
 
 " Even so," said Hyrcanus gloomily. " She chose 
 to ascend by a surer ladder to the throne." 
 
 The camel-driver, debarred from the banquet-hall be- 
 cause of his ignoble birth, obtained the connivance of 
 the tricliniarch and was enabled to send in the amethyst 
 stone among the baked meats. He peeped between the 
 outer curtains and watched. The token was brought 
 to Salome as she reclined upon her purple couch among 
 her guests. Her eye fell upon it even at the moment 
 when she extended her hand with a jest and laughter to 
 that envoy who reclined nearest. But neither her hand
 
 172 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 shook nor her colour changed. She whispered a word 
 over her naked shoulder to Abaddon who stood behind 
 her couch. The huge black eunuch came quickly from 
 the hall, led away that ill-omened messenger, dragged 
 him to a dungeon under the tower where his cries could 
 not be heard, and there mutilated him in a manner to 
 insure his silence. 
 
 Salome was a woman of discretion. The flattering 
 offers of Aristobulus had decided her that these new 
 hopes of the crown were surer than those invested in 
 the desperate attempt of the outlawed Asmonean. 
 Nay, more ; she had seen at once that she must conceal 
 her past intrigue and strike Hyrcanus from her path. 
 She it was, and no other, who had betrayed Hyrcanus 
 to the Romans. The grinning Abaddon boasted of 
 this with gibes to Nadab while administering the torture. 
 
 " Thy signs," said Hyrcanus, putting his hand to his 
 breast, " but confirm the thoughts that have long burned 
 here . . . Oh, that my hour of vengeance were come! 
 Yea, and thine! For thy tongue, Nadab, which she 
 hath torn out, thou shalt show her a sharper tongue 
 of iron speaking death. But now say to me, how 
 earnest thou hither ? " 
 
 The mute indicated by gestures that Salome had de- 
 tained him among her servants, half prisoner half 
 menial, until this accident at Bethabara had drowned 
 Esau but swept himself to liberty. 
 
 Hyrcanus sprang to his feet at that and gazed in- 
 credulously northward over the bending bushes. 
 
 " What meanest thou ! Is it Salome who goeth 
 yonder with her people ! Salome ! "
 
 BETHANY 173 
 
 Nadab bowed his dishevelled head in affirmation. 
 
 The idle daughter of Herodias had lingered many 
 weeks among the splendid baths and forbidden pleas- 
 ures of the Grecian city of Jericho. She was now set- 
 ting out through the desert to Damascus, there to join 
 her husband. 
 
 Hyrcanus's eyes flashed. 
 
 " She designeth to pass the night at the old khan by 
 Jabbok," said he, and stood a while thoughtful, with 
 darkened face. " She hath her armed men by hun- 
 dreds, her horses, spears, bucklers, and swords. And I 
 I have naught. Yet shalt thou sup thy fill of venge- 
 ance ! Come." 
 
 It seemed that Nadab cared little for vengeance or 
 much for safety. He grovelled on the sand with un- 
 couth noises, clutching at the prince's cloak. His 
 whole body was one protest. But Hyrcanus, sternly 
 resolved, in bitterness of heart too deep for outward 
 show, raised him. 
 
 " Up, and fear not ! Henceforth art thou safe un- 
 der my wing. I bid thee follow. Nay, draw not 
 back weeping! Thou who hast lost tongue and eye and 
 hand for me, thou shalt laugh in thy heart this night 
 for joy. I will do for thee that which I would that thou 
 shouldst for me, were I Nadab and thou Hyrcanus. It 
 is a new law which I obey, yea, a law splendid and 
 good and worthy of a king ! " 
 
 They went northward among low sand-hills. 
 
 Afar on the desert to their right a low line of dust 
 marked where Salome's company followed an ancient 
 route that was fringed by white bones. But Hyrcanus,
 
 174 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 to whom that desolate region was known as the mark- 
 ings upon his palm, struck directly through the hills for 
 the brook Jabbok. 
 
 Day wore to evening. Long shadows stretched east- 
 ward over the sands. The sun went down behind the 
 dark Samaritan mountains like a fiery chariot-wheel. 
 The wind blew cold out of the desert. A lion roared 
 beside some near-by pool, and was answered from afar 
 by hoarse booming throats. 
 
 Night was descending quickly, like an outspread veil. 
 The purple sky already began to be flecked with lumi- 
 nous golden points. Nadab crept closer to the heels of 
 his silent companion and plucked at the hem of his 
 mantle. 
 
 "What troubleth thee? " asked Hyrcanus in a kind 
 voice, turning and laying his hand on the cringing 
 head. " Be at peace, little brother. Is not mine arm 
 over thee! Thou hast beheld me vanquished in the 
 town, but still am I lord of the desert." And he strode 
 on. 
 
 Jackals yelped. Out of the deeper shadows 
 clamoured hideously the skulking ferocious hyena. All 
 creatures of day had fled; only beasts of night now 
 roamed in search of prey. But Hyrcanus regarded 
 with indifference the wild stealthy forms around at 
 which his companion trembled. He ascended to the top 
 of a ridge of sand. From that elevation were visible 
 a few fires gleaming brightly in the middle distance. 
 
 " Lo," said he, " our enemy lieth already at the 
 khan. To-night thy heart shall glut its vengeance." 
 
 Again Nadab flung himself down to clasp the prince's
 
 BETHANY 175 
 
 knees, mutely imploring him to proceed no farther. 
 Tears streamed down his woe-begone features. 
 
 But Hyrcanus, seeing in these actions only how mis- 
 fortune had crushed the wretched man's spirit, drew 
 him onward by the hand. They were hard by a deep 
 cleft which formed the wady or gorge of the brook 
 Jabbok. He drew him down a steep path into this 
 place. 
 
 Threading his course with an assured step amongst 
 the jagged rocks and grey dead trees beside the mur- 
 muring black stream, he came to a roomy cavern arched 
 above a level floor of pebbles. The cavern had served 
 at some former time for a habitation or defence. A 
 wall or high breastwork of rough stones enclosed the 
 front, except a narrow entrance. As the two men ap- 
 proached, a spotted leopard bounded out of the cavern 
 over the wall into the thick twilight with a savage snarl. 
 
 Hyrcanus collected some dry sticks and kindled a 
 fire behind the rocks. He fed Nadab and ministered 
 solicitously to his wants. 
 
 " Take my cloak," said he at last, " and lie thou here 
 secure. Ere the moon shall have touched the fork 
 of that tamarisk thou seest above on the bank, I shall 
 return." 
 
 He passed out between the rocks into the darkness. 
 There sounded the shuddering laugh of a hyena which 
 slunk away before him, and he was gone. 
 
 The mute ran helplessly round and round the little 
 fire of sticks, beat his breast, fell upon his knees, and 
 looked up at the stars.
 
 V 
 
 THE khan at the brook Jabbok was of a primitive 
 type. A stone wall encircled an ancient well 
 and three unfruitful fig trees. In the inces- 
 sant desert warfare the village that once stood near had 
 long ago been razed; and only a ruinous heap half 
 buried in tall sparse vegetation marked the site. 
 
 Caravans journeying from Bethabara to Damascus 
 usually made the abandoned khan the end of the first 
 day's march. And here the royal daughter of Herodias 
 with her numerous company was encamped. 
 
 A red glow of dying fires outlined above the wall the 
 black figure of an iron-capped sentinel leaning on his 
 long spear. Against the soft purple vault of sky 
 a-glitter with stars, the peaked tops of a group of tents 
 could be discerned. The unsaddled horses, mules, and 
 asses stood tethered together beside the humps of kneel- 
 ing camels and dromedaries. 
 
 Quiet had settled upon the crowded encampment. 
 Soldiers and slaves had disposed themselves for sleep, 
 except the half-dozen members of the watch, who 
 squatted about the embers of a fire in the open space 
 before the principal tent, talking drowsily and wrapped 
 to the chin against the cold wind. Now and then the 
 dogs answered with raucous defiance the howl of a 
 
 wolf; an ass brayed in fear; or a horse kicked and 
 
 176
 
 BETHANY 177 
 
 squealed. But these were the common sounds of a 
 night's halt in the desert. 
 
 A stealthy form, like a deeper shadow amid the 
 shadows, emerged from a weed-grown gully half a 
 stone's toss below the khan, glided to the wall at an 
 unguarded spot, and slid over it into the huddle of 
 camels. 
 
 There was a slight disturbance among the timid ani- 
 mals. The marauder, as if he were only a sleepy driver 
 who had arisen for a moment, pretended to adjust some 
 loosened trappings. From this he passed on naturally 
 towards the centre of the khan. 
 
 He walked with an assurance that dispelled suspi- 
 cion, pausing to answer with prompt jest the angry 
 challenge of one over whose body he was stepping. 
 
 " Peace, grunter ; my foot touched thee not. 
 Imagine it the Passover and sleep on ! " 
 
 Coming at length behind the great central tent, he 
 seemed to make his bed among the cooks and menials 
 there. 
 
 But the spot where he had lain down was empty 
 a minute after. He had crawled into the dense shadow 
 of the black tent-curtain, where he lay and cautiously 
 began to loosen a tent-peg. The sweeping wind caused 
 the curtain constantly to sag and belly with a rustling 
 noise which concealed his operations. Finally he in- 
 serted his head. When he had looked and listened a 
 while, his entire body followed, gliding under like a 
 snake. 
 
 The large tent was divided into two compartments. 
 In the outer compartment, illumined dimly by a lamp
 
 178 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 which burned behind the inner curtain, slept the per- 
 sonal attendants of Salome. They lay about every- 
 where in relaxed attitudes on mats or rugs, pillowing 
 their heads upon their arms. 
 
 Across the entrance of the inner tent, where hung 
 the burning lamp, Abaddon had stretched his great 
 black limbs upon a softly rich rug of the incomparable 
 Damascene fabric. His unsheathed scimitar glistened 
 at his side. 
 
 Within, Salome reclined, still wakeful, upon a 
 cushioned settle. A meek tiring woman slowly combed 
 with long gentle strokes her unbound glossy hair. An- 
 other knelt unfastening the golden latchets of her 
 sandals. On the tent-pole before her hung a polished 
 mirror of steel. 
 
 Gazing thoughtfully into the mirror, Salome smiled 
 from time to time as if she communed with her own 
 fair reflection. 
 
 " Oh, for an augur ! " she murmured. 
 
 " Thy servant heareth ! " exclaimed anxiously both 
 tiring-women, thinking themselves spoken to. 
 
 "It is naught." 
 
 Salome was in a temper that night amazingly affable. 
 Her attendants questioned one another with mute 
 glances. When the gliding comb entangled in the 
 hair a moment, the woman M 7 ho wielded it grew white 
 and gasped. But Salome only smiled; her voice of re- 
 proach was as gentle as the purring of a cat. 
 
 " Thy hand groweth unsteady, my Lystra. Art 
 wearied ? " 
 
 " Oh, pardon thy servant ! "
 
 BETHANY 179 
 
 " Nay, thou hast combed enough. Bind up my hair 
 and seek thy bed. Thou also, Maachah, mayest de- 
 part. But stay ! " She turned a look over her 
 shoulder. " Ere thou goest, Maachah, bring unto me 
 once again the letter of my lord Aristobulus." 
 
 A roll of papyrus was brought to her, wound around 
 a slender rod of ivory and showing a broken seal of the 
 royal house of Herod. She languidly received it. 
 
 " Well hast thou earned thy rest, good Maachah. 
 As thou goest out, pin tighter the tent-flap. I like not 
 that noise of shaking in the wind." 
 
 Being alone, she unrolled the papyrus, leaned upon 
 her elbow, and slowly read again certain familiar 
 passages. 
 
 ". . . Touching this matter of the kingdom, O Salome, messen- 
 gers from Flaccus, my friend of years, reach me but now with 
 twice a camel-load of gifts that unloadeth, even as I write, be- 
 tween the pilasters of my court. Here in my hand I hold his 
 letter. Judge thou if these hopes be founded well or ill. Agrippa, 
 he sayeth, hath at a feast of Caius, being flushed with wine, 
 openly wished Tiberius dead. Therefore is Agrippa cast into 
 chains. Yet hath his former accusation against Antipas sown 
 seeds of distrust too deeply in Caesar's mind to be uprooted. And 
 Antipas also moveth rather to doom than dominion. . . . 
 
 "Who remaineth but thy love-tormented Aristobulus! Flaccus 
 giveth me to believe that he with discreet words of praise hath 
 assiduously watered that good opinion which Caesar held concern- 
 ing me. And on the third day before the nones of August, 
 seated the while in the garden of his villa at Capri, great Tiberius 
 graciously pronounced these words, which I beg thee to mark 
 well. 'Of all the Herodian sons (said he) that one who abideth 
 at Damascus hath alone given me no sleepless nights. If I must 
 purchase my peace in that I bestow the Judean crown on one 
 of them, Aristobulus would be my choice. . . .' 
 
 " Thus, O my Salome, of whom my thoughts are gilded by love
 
 180 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 as yonder rich bales of Flaccus on my portico are gilded by the 
 setting sun . . ." 
 
 The papyrus and slender ivory stick fell rustling 
 uopn the ground. Salome leaned on her elbow in 
 reverie. 
 
 " The setting sun ! " she murmured. " Fie ! my 
 Aristobulusl I like not thy figure of the setting 
 sun ! " 
 
 Afar over the desert boomed the dull thunder of 
 lions. The weird chorus of jackals sang ever of greed, 
 famine and pillage. The tightly pinned tent sagged, 
 filled, and flapped on the blowing wind with a monot- 
 onous noise. 
 
 " Not such a cedar amongst men art thou, Aristo- 
 bulus," she murmured again after a little while. 
 " Thou stumblest even in thy courtesies. Pah ! And 
 to lick Cassar's hand as a dog begs scraps of meat ! . . . 
 Yet, the only secure way . . . For dead Hyrcanus, 
 whose desperate throw against odds ..." A slight 
 sound behind disturbed her meditations. " Art thou 
 still here, Maachah ? " she inquired, languidly turning 
 on the settle. " Replace the letter." 
 
 But fear leaped large and stiffened in her face. 
 She arose galvanically and sank back. 
 
 " O God of hosts, beholdest thou this ! " she faltered. 
 
 The dead man whom she had that moment recalled 
 to mind stood before her. Divested of his outer gar- 
 ment like a wrestler, his dark lithe limbs bare, his arms 
 knotted tight across his chest as though to hold down 
 the surging heart within, he stood and looked intently 
 upon her. The lamplight, shaken by the wind, sent
 
 BETHANY 181 
 
 ripples of shadow over his features, which were com- 
 posed in a calm expression more ferocious than rage. 
 
 " Thou art not of this world, O spirit ! " she gasped. 
 
 " O short-memoried daughter of Herodias, an outcry 
 soundeth thy instant death." 
 
 " They told me Hyrcanus slept beneath six cubits of 
 fallen walls and ashes ! " 
 
 " In this heart, Salome, was something concerning 
 thee that would not let me sleep." 
 
 " Thou designest ill unto me ! That sharp blade in 
 thy hand, in thine eyes a look . . ." 
 
 " But thoughtest thou to find love in these eyes ? 
 They have looked upon thy deed of treachery." 
 
 " Thou wrongest me, Hyrcanus ! " 
 
 As he smiled his quiet derision, she stretched out with 
 a supplicating gesture her delicate blue-veined palms. 
 
 " Oh, thou cruelly wrongest me ! It was not I ! 
 May all the high heaven-dwellers bear me witness, it 
 was not I who brought the Roman swords upon thee ! " 
 
 " Thine own northern spearsmen most like thou 
 didst but send them forth to market." 
 
 " Nay, by the living God I swear, I sent them to 
 thine aid! Thy messenger brought me the token, and 
 before ever the shock of battle rang on the air I 
 gathered quickly mine armed men. I summoned my 
 captains. My heart was consumed with fear! Hyr- 
 canus ! Thou imaginedst not that I, a timorous 
 woman, might myself lead them into the battle! But 
 to the captain of my guard, to Larsa, I spake bidding 
 him make haste and fall upon the Romans and rescue 
 thee. Ah, God! I know not how it came to pass!
 
 182 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 If Larsa being deaf mistook my words or was bought 
 with Roman gold, I know not ! In thy preservation my 
 heart was locked as a dove in a cage! I climbed upon 
 the housetop to watch ! And when I saw how that thou 
 wast overcome, I fell as one palsied ! Ah, Hyrcanus, if 
 thou wouldst but believe! For days I lay and bedewed 
 my bed with tears! I called upon thy name ten thou- 
 sand times in the night! I mourned . . ." 
 
 Wonderfully she pleaded with liquid voice and 
 stretched out her white hands. 
 
 But he glancing past her saw in the mirror which 
 hung on the tent-pole what a fate she designed for him. 
 She had made some signal to Abaddon. The tent-flap 
 was softly unpinned. The huge eunuch was creeping 
 in like a shadow to cleave him from behind. 
 
 Hyrcanus leaped suddenly aside. 
 
 The broad-bladed scimetar swooped down through 
 empty space. 
 
 Ere Salome could move or cry out, Abaddon's great, 
 black, shining body bounded on the rug before her, 
 stabbed once in the hollow of the throat and twice 
 through the heart. He stretched out his shivering limbs 
 and died with scarce a groan. His blood gushed over 
 her white gown. 
 
 The slayer coolly wiped his wet knife on the dead 
 man's tunic. 
 
 " Thy false words, Salome, may lure others to death," 
 said he, " but never again Hyrcanus." 
 
 Despair had stupefied her faculties. The bloom of 
 her cheek had perished in grey ash, terror had ruined 
 the flowerlike face. As the eunuch struck, missed, and
 
 BETHANY 183 
 
 died before her, she only opened wide her mouth and 
 gasped. Perhaps Hyrcanus's unaccountable avoidance 
 of this destruction which she had purposed for him, 
 confirmed her first belief in his supernatural presence. 
 Her eyes followed his movements afterwards with a 
 cowed look. 
 
 But when he arose and laid his blood-wet fingers on 
 her naked shoulder, she shuddered and tried at last to 
 shriek. 
 
 He choked the sound back into her throat so that her 
 eyes protruded. She struggled a moment in his grasp 
 like a hen, and swooned. 
 
 Using her own many-stranded girdle he bound her 
 wrists and ankles, stuffed her scarf into her mouth, 
 rolled her limp body into a rug, shouldered it, and went 
 boldly forth. 
 
 He went through the sleeping attendants and out at 
 the tent-door. Traversing the camp not far from the 
 smouldering fire, he bent low under his burden. The 
 drowsy watch sat and saw him pass and thought it 
 only some slave sent upon a task. A dog which 
 scented the fresh blood on the rug sprang eagerly 
 after and whined. 
 
 The stooped figure, followed by the dog, disappeared 
 amid the shadowy humps of the kneeling camels. 
 
 Meantime down in the gorge of Jabbok Nadab had 
 long waited. As the wild beasts crept nearer, he fed 
 the fire bits of the dry driftwood. Often he went and 
 peered through the opening between the rocks ; and 
 once, taking a lighted fagot for protection, he even ven- 
 tured out and climbed up the bank to look across the
 
 184- THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 desert. The moon, magnified by nearness to the earth, 
 was just then rising. Its yellow rim already paled the 
 glory of the stars. All the wild voices of the night 
 saluted it in dismal antiphonal chorus. 
 
 The mute retreated to the cavern and squatted again 
 before the fire. Although the night was cold, sweat 
 glistened on his swarthy face. 
 
 A dislodged stone rolled down the steep and plunged 
 into the water. Nadab sprang to his feet. 
 
 Outside was heard a footfall, and Hyrcanus strode in 
 between the rocks. 
 
 A guttural cry of gladness broke from the tongueless 
 lips. 
 
 " Thy hour of triumph is come," said Hyrcanus. 
 He cast the roll of carpet down at Nadab's feet and 
 thrust into his left hand the dagger. " Take thou this 
 also," said he. And he went back to the edge of the 
 firelight, beside the narrow entrance, and sat upon a 
 stone there, looking fixedly at the sand between his feet, 
 and tracing lines in it with his finger. 
 
 Nadab's one eye rolled and flickered wildly in the 
 firelight. He glared first at Hyrcanus, then at the roll 
 of carpet, then at the dagger, which still wore a few 
 stains. His knees began to knock together. His 
 maimed arm wiped from his forehead the dripping 
 sweat. 
 
 At last, like one afraid, he stooped and with timid 
 fingers pulled aside the rug. 
 
 Salome's unbound hair had spread its dark curtain 
 over her face and bosom. He lifted it away strand by 
 strand, released her mouth from the muffling cloth, and
 
 BETHANY 185 
 
 looked upon the death-white face of the royal daughter 
 of Herodias. Seeing the blood on her dress he got up 
 quickly, shrinking from the sight. 
 
 But then her breast heaved; a deep sigh hissed be- 
 tween her parted lips. The cold air, the dance of the 
 firelight on her eyelids, ended her swoon. Life rushed 
 back into her. 
 
 Moaning she opened her eyes and beheld the base 
 camel-driver whom she had mutilated. She saw the 
 blade gleaming in his hands. She struggled partly 
 up in spite of her bonds and fell forward on her hands 
 and knees. 
 
 *' Have mercy ! " she wailed in a shrill voice. 
 
 This proud woman, the descendant of kings, cast 
 herself at the feet of the despised freedman. She 
 would have kissed them had he not stepped quickly back 
 a pace. 
 
 " Pity me ! Pity me ! " she implored again and 
 again. 
 
 As he still retired before her, she, striving still to 
 reach his feet, dragged her tender limbs over the sharp 
 stones. Her dishevelled black hair, which poured down 
 on either side like ropes, caught under her crawling 
 knees. With a long tremulous cry of despair she fell 
 forward on her face, bruised and helpless. 
 
 Nadab bent quickly. The blade flashed at its work, 
 and her bonds, severed at wrists and ankles, fell from 
 her. 
 
 It was some moments before she comprehended that 
 her limbs were free. She lifted her amazed head and 
 slowly stood up. Nadab strained with grotesque work-
 
 186 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 ings of his face to say something to her. From his 
 throat issued a gabble of noises. He beckoned, pointed 
 toward the door of the cavern, and motioned furtively 
 for her to flee. At the same time he sought to interpose 
 his own body between her and Hyrcanus that her flight 
 might be concealed. 
 
 But although Hyrcanus sat and pored gloomily on 
 the ground all the while as if he observed nothing, he 
 stretched out his foot across the only path of escape. 
 
 Thrice the woman crept fearfully forward, and thrice 
 cowered back as he bent over and traced lines in the 
 sand with his forefinger. 
 
 She saw her helplessness to pass him, and prostrated 
 herself, weeping. The mute came too and knelt ab- 
 jectly, adding his prayers to hers. 
 
 Hyrcanus smoothed out with his foot the lines he had 
 hitherto traced in the sand. He frowned and after a 
 moment wrote again. One might have thought him 
 ignorant that those two suppliants knelt before him. 
 In the sand his finger wrote, 
 
 " As thou wouldst that others should do to thee." 
 
 At last he lifted his head and looked at Salome. 
 The veins above his eyebrows, darkened and swollen, 
 stood out like whipcords. 
 
 " Go," he said hoarsely. " If this wretch that thou 
 hast injured granteth thee thy life, I I also will 
 be not less generous, for the sake of mine own pride 
 . . . But go quickly, lest I repent ! "
 
 VI 
 
 IT was early evening in the green and pleasant land 
 of Galilee. Hyrcanus sat by the roadside on the 
 heights above Tiberias. The soft twilight af- 
 forded a view of the white-walled city far below which 
 Herod Antipas the Tetrarch had built in architectural 
 flattery of Cassar. Beyond, the Sea of Gennesaret 
 spread its wrinkling waters glassy green, framed like a 
 world-mirror within darkling hills and a white strip of 
 beach. 
 
 The sun had sunk. On the rose-pink sky impercep- 
 tibly shading off into grey and green, peeped out every 
 minute new yellow stars like dandelions springing in a 
 field. 
 
 Gradually the sky turned a bluer green. Against it 
 the massed vineyards appeared black, the olive gardens 
 silver. Down on the lake the lanterns of fishing-boats 
 which clustered about the harbour began to twinkle 
 ruddily. Peace reigned everywhere. A distant bleat- 
 ing was heard from sheep and goats that wended home- 
 ward. Oxen newly unyoked from the plough lowed. 
 
 Nadab had gone down into the city to procure food. 
 Hyrcanus waited his return. He sat on a stone under 
 a fig tree. 
 
 As he rested, a group of men numbering seven came 
 
 down the crooked road in the rough garb of vine- 
 
 187
 
 188 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 dressers. The pruning knives at their girdles were 
 meant to indicate that they were going home from the 
 day's honest labour. But they glanced warily about 
 them with an air half insolent half slinking, like that of 
 foxes. 
 
 They were in fact a band of common thieves in quest 
 of plunder. 
 
 They perceived Hyrcanus seated alone by the way- 
 side and exchanged quick looks and smiles with one 
 another, full of significance. The foremost pair went 
 aside to observe him more closely, for it had been grow- 
 ing dark and he was obscured by the shadow of the tree. 
 One asked him a question about the weather. But 
 when they saw how poor and travel-stained was his 
 cloak and how worn and frayed his sandals, and when 
 moreover he lifted his eyes at them with a formidable 
 look, grasping his stout staff, they rejoined the others. 
 The seven stopped, spoke together in low tones, and 
 finally continued on down the road, laughing. 
 
 Soon the curving hillside shut in behind the last of 
 them. 
 
 A minute later the breeze which poured up from the 
 lake bore to Hyrcanus's ears a woman's frightened 
 cry, 
 
 "Barjona! Simon Bar jona! Save!" 
 
 Hyrcanus started up from his meditation stricken 
 through with an incredulous surprise. The words and 
 voice rang in his heart like an alarm-bell and roused 
 a throng of memories. It was evening again in Elul 
 by the Pool of Siloam under the walls of Jerusalem. 
 The slender maid whose pitcher he had broken was
 
 BETHANY 189 
 
 fleeing before him down the dark valley into the shadows 
 of Gehenna. 
 
 Again the clear cry rang out, 
 
 "Barjona! Barjona! Where art thou, Simon! 
 Save ! " 
 
 But mingled with it now was the voice of another 
 woman calling likewise for help. The illusion was 
 shattered like a glass. Hyrcanus seized his staff and 
 sped down the road. 
 
 He swung around the hill into the midst of the 
 scuffle. The band of thieves had laid hold of two 
 women and in spite of their outcries and frantic resist- 
 ance were attempting to drag them over a stone fence 
 into a wayside field, there to use their will upon them. 
 
 As the women struggled and implored, the ruffians 
 mocked, 
 
 " How, Mary ? Ref usest corban to thine old cus- 
 tomers of Magdala? Hast thou no gratitude for all 
 the trade we brought thee in former times? Ha, ha! 
 And this pretty dove, too ! . . ." 
 
 In the dim dusk Hyrcanus plunged among them like 
 a thunderbolt hurled from the sky. The staff whistled. 
 One fellow rolled into the weeds with a head cracked. 
 Another stretched over the stone-wall, limp as a piece 
 of cloth. 
 
 The rest released the women and leaped back in 
 dismay. But discovering that they were assailed by 
 only one man, they plucked out their sharp pruning 
 knives and sprang at him, cursing and inciting each 
 other. 
 
 As a wolf snaps among a pack of dogs, Hyrcanus
 
 190 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 leaped this way and that, smiting in silence. Wherever 
 he struck he made a howl of pain respond. The five 
 thieves could not reach him with their knives, although 
 they slashed his garments in many places. 
 
 Suddenly the two women set up a cry that travellers 
 were coming. 
 
 Disconcerted, the thieves paused a moment. Hyr- 
 canus lengthened his weapon by a swift shift, drove the 
 end of it into the face of one, breaking his nose and 
 ripping open his cheek, and whirled at another so as 
 to send his knife flying. With that they turned as by 
 one consent and fled. 
 
 Hyrcanus leaned upon his staff, panting. His 
 strength was not yet fully recovered from his long ill- 
 ness, and weakness rushed upon him. The hills rocked 
 before his eyes, stars danced, a roaring sounded in his 
 ears. But while he halted thus, giddy with past ex- 
 ertion, he saw nevertheless that the smaller and younger 
 of the two women let fall a big stone which she had 
 bravely picked up to cast at the thieves, and came to- 
 wards him. 
 
 " Nay, it is not Barjona! " said the larger and elder, 
 behind her. " Never could Simon have so leaped and 
 laid about him." 
 
 The girl advanced timidly in the late twilight. 
 
 " An angel from on high did send thee," said she in 
 a soft, sweet voice which Hyrcanus remembered. 
 
 " Valiant man," said the elder woman also, " thou 
 hast rescued this little maid from those that would have 
 wrought wickedness upon her. Art thou of Tiberias? 
 Or whither may we send on the morrow and thank thee ?
 
 BETHANY 191 
 
 " We have neither silver nor gold," said the girl, see- 
 ing that he breathed heavily and did not answer. " How 
 may we repay thee ! " She drew nearer to observe his 
 face, which his arm upon the staff concealed. " Hast 
 thou suffered wounds from their knives ? " 
 
 " Bernice ! " he cried hoarsely. 
 
 He could no longer restrain himself, caught sudden 
 hold of her, and strained her with violence to his breast. 
 
 Recognising him, she shrieked out and began pite- 
 ously to beg. 
 
 " Oh ! Oh ! Cruel one ! Fierce Hyrcanus ! It is 
 thou ! Thou hast rescued me from others only to make 
 me thine own prey ! " 
 
 But he had fallen down before her and clasped her 
 knees. 
 
 " I am thy slave thy miserable slave forever ! As 
 the dust of thy feet am I ! More than glory or gold 
 or all the kingdoms of earth art thou to me ! Bernice ! 
 Rather would I be the sandal beneath thy foot than 
 victor over Roman legions ! Strangle me now with 
 cords if it be not altogether as I say ! Bernice ! Ber- 
 nice! Hear me! Thou art my bright morning star! 
 Without thee life is on my back as a heavy load ! " 
 
 Bernice trembled much, striving continually to push 
 him from her. 
 
 " Wouldst thou return evil for good ? Wicked Hyr- 
 canus ! Me who saved thee from Roman spears wouldst 
 thou now carry off by violence to thy robber den ! " 
 
 " Stick those spears into me like quills if I bear thee 
 off by violence ! Yet will I perish of despair if I have 
 thee not ! "
 
 192 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Oh, thou strong, hasty man of blood ! But thou 
 wilt not take me by violence? " 
 
 " I am not as in former days. I have dwelt at 
 Bethany. I have learnt somewhat. And though de- 
 sires slay me, yet will I not by violence ! " 
 
 " Thou sayest this as a promise? " 
 
 "Yea, by God's throne!" 
 
 She laughed softly with relief. 
 
 " Promise me by this." Stooping down she drew in 
 the dust that symbol which she had used at Siloam. 
 
 " A fish ! " he exclaimed. " Yea, I covenant by fish 
 or fowl or beast or serpent or whatsoever thou wilt! 
 But how comes it to pass that thou employest a living 
 image? Art thou then numbered amongst the lowly of 
 the eranoi? " 
 
 " It is the sign of the new kingdom." 
 
 The stricken thief who had hung across the stone 
 wall got his feet under him and scrambled off into the 
 darkness. Hyrcanus would have pursued and slain him, 
 but Bernice clung to his cloak. 
 
 " Nay, let the man live ! " she cried. " Thou takest 
 life ! canst thou give it again ? All thy years hast 
 thou trod in blood as in a wine-press. This right hand 
 of thine hath shed too much blood already." Neverthe- 
 less she lifted it to her lips. " Nay, it hath rescued 
 Mary and me," she said. " It cannot be altogether 
 evil." 
 
 Her fears had passed, since his promise. She, who 
 was still half child half woman, smiled up into his dark 
 face. 
 
 " Changed art thou ! " she said, widening her eyes.
 
 BETHANY 193 
 
 " So wonderfully art thou changed ! And thin ! And 
 even taller! Barjona brought back but a grain of 
 truth concerning thee . . . We go to Magdala, Mary 
 and I. There was Mary born, and there she dwelt ere 
 ever she sinned and went down to Jerusalem. And 
 there she hath still a little house. And Simon Barjona 
 cometh not to meet us on this hill, as he had said. Per- 
 haps Simon is let ... But thou earnest, Hyrcanus. 
 The thieves beset us round about, but thou wast a lion 
 leaping upon them. Glad am I that it was thou who 
 earnest. How strange that I should say should say 
 that I was glad because Hyrcanus came ! " And she 
 ended in soft laughter. 
 
 " Bernice ! " he groaned. '* Go with me into the 
 hills ! " And he pointed across the lake. 
 
 Dismay overcame her again : " Oh, that may never 
 be!" 
 
 " Hast thou forgot, Bernice, how that thy father 
 designed thee unto me for wife ? " 
 
 " He sought but power over thee. And now is that 
 all ended. Now cometh the kingdom of heaven. 
 Such a marriage is not of heaven." 
 
 " Not of heaven ! What meanest thou ? " 
 
 " Moreover, thou art of kingly birth, of a race that 
 ever seeketh dominion. Thou wilt take unto thee many 
 wives." 
 
 " Nay." 
 
 " Thou knowest I speak truth ! It is thus the princes 
 of earth strengthen themselves, by ties of kinship. 
 Little do I know of such matters, being but a woman and 
 having but faith. Yet have I asked, and Barjona
 
 194 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 hath said he hath said that a man shall cleave unto 
 his one wife. So hath it ever been among the poor." 
 
 "May thunderbolts rend thy Barjona!" exclaimed 
 Hyrcanus fiercely. " He heapeth up vain words ! But 
 hear me now, Bernice. If for reasons of state I must 
 hereafter choose out unto me other wives, they shall 
 be but as shadows attending the brightness of thy 
 glory." 
 
 " Oh ! " She put up her hands to repel the thought. 
 
 " I swear by my father's beard ! I will make thee 
 such a queen ! For thee I will conquer kingdoms ! I will 
 seat thee on a throne of gold and spread all the earth 
 as a rug for thy feet! Ah, my love, my love! I will 
 give not back for Caesar or the roar of Rome. The 
 swelling of this heart will break down the walls of cities 
 and crush thousands. Come unto me, my love ! With- 
 out thee my life is as precious wine spilt on the 
 sand!" 
 
 He stretched out his arms to her, but she drew back. 
 
 "Would I bring such destruction on the world? 
 monster! What need have I of a golden throne while 
 others lack for bread! I should be ever thinking of 
 the tears it cost ! And . . . and for thine other wives. 
 . . . Proud may I be, Hyrcanus, proud and selfish, 
 yet would I not share my husband's little finger with 
 another woman ! " 
 
 " Nay then ! " he cried vehemently. " None other 
 shall be ! None but thou ! And for the kingdom 
 if thou desire it not, I toss it away ! " He made as if 
 he dashed something invisible on the ground. " Thee 
 I will have ! All else is dust and ashes I "
 
 BETHANY 195 
 
 But there the Magdalene, a tall, haggard woman, came 
 closer to them and pointed down the road. 
 
 " One lurketh yonder in the shadows. I thought it 
 was Simon Barjona, but . . ." 
 
 " Fear not," said Hyrcanus, peering. " It is one 
 that is my friend. He too hath caught some spark of 
 that teaching of a new kingdom." And he called Nadab 
 by name. 
 
 The mute ran forward bringing the provisions which 
 he had gone to procure. By signs he indicated a dan- 
 ger. There began to be heard below a noise of a numer- 
 ous company of people and animals ascending. 
 
 It was necessary to depart. 
 
 "Barjona cometh not," said Bernice. "His wife is 
 sick, and that perhaps hath stayed him. But how may 
 we, being women, go alone in the night to Magdala? 
 We must return and procure one to accompany us." 
 
 " Nay, it is I and no other man that will accompany 
 thee!" cried Hyrcanus with jealousy. 
 
 She put her hand in his and walked by his side, meas- 
 uring her steps to his. They went over the hills 
 along the lake, followed by Mary Magdalene and the 
 mute. 
 
 There was only starlight; the moon was not yet up. 
 Innumerable stars flashed boldly forth like lamps. Each 
 rolling planet gleamed more brightly than a winter's 
 moon. All the hollow of heaven was a riot of contesting 
 glories, while the wide water below glittered like another 
 heaven inverted. 
 
 The dim white road twined between gardens of olives 
 that stood like groups of dun ghosts against the darker
 
 196 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 vineyards. From neighbouring sheepfolds sounded 
 faint bleatings and the vigilant bark of sheep-dogs. 
 Slumber rested upon the world. 
 
 As Hyrcanus and Bernice walked hand in hand, 
 breathing the odour of wild thyme, she spoke of many 
 things, not without gaiety, but of the one thing which 
 he wished she would not speak. 
 
 They descended at last towards the environs of the 
 little fishing-village of Magdala, and stopped at a stone 
 cottage fenced about by a broken hedge. Mary 
 Magdalene entered the dark, empty house to light a 
 candle; but Bernice stayed at the door, for Hyrcanus 
 held her. 
 
 " Thou givest me no answer," he said. " And now 
 must this door shut between us. At daybreak I will be 
 far away. Who knoweth when I shall see thee again ! " 
 
 She was silent a while. 
 
 " Time hath erased many words of love, and it may 
 be that thine . . ." 
 
 " Never ! " he declared passionately. 
 
 " But if so be thou incline yet unto me hereafter 
 nay ! put not thy face so near ! if thou wilt seek me 
 at the Passover . . ." 
 
 " The Passover ! Four moons must grow old and 
 die ere the great Feast ! And Barabbas lieth in chains ! 
 And meantime I have that to do that asketh lives 
 perchance mine own." 
 
 She pulled loose from him on a swift impulse of 
 horror. 
 
 " What new deed of blood hast thou in mind ! Art 
 thou never sated! How much blood of thy brethren
 
 BETHANY 197 
 
 hast thou already shed ! Thou breathest blood, blood ' 
 always blood and slaughter ! I am sick of murders." 
 
 " Never the blood of brethren ! " he indignantly pro- 
 tested. " Never hath this hand been wet with a brother's 
 blood!" 
 
 But Bernice grew more and more excited. 
 
 " Thou speakest boastingly of murders ! And our 
 kurios saith all men are brethren." 
 
 " Those I design to slay are the blood-lapping Ro- 
 man dogs." 
 
 " Bestial is thy mind, as thy deeds ! On that dark 
 hill thou beholdest there on that hill, so hath Simon 
 Barjona said and others also, stood up our Jeurios Jesus 
 and proclaimed all men to be brethren, for one is our 
 father, even God." 
 
 "Not Samaritans!" 
 
 " Yea, and Romans ! " 
 
 " How then may I set Barabbas free but by the 
 sword ? " he asked gloomily. 
 
 " Barabbas ! who hath slain his hundreds already ! 
 Thou wouldst slay men to set him free that he may slay 
 other hundreds ? Nay, I tell thee this, Hyrcanus ! " 
 she cried, swept beyond all reason by a torrent of in- 
 dignant emotion. " If thou shed the blood of any man 
 henceforth for Barabbas' sake, never will I look upon 
 thy face again ! " 
 
 He leaned against a tree beside the door. A dense 
 shadow lay about him there. It was impossible for her 
 to perceive the effect of her words upon him. But 
 when he spoke again, a threatening change sounded in 
 his voice.
 
 198 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Thou givest me words of the Nazarene carpenter 
 who proclaimeth laws for his new kingdom. Hear me, 
 Bernice. The deed which I design, that carpenter hath 
 himself confirmed my purpose in. Out of his own mouth 
 he said it. In a cave in the gorge of Cherith, by night, 
 when we were alone together, he confirmed my resolu- 
 tion." 
 
 " That may not be ! " she exclaimed aghast, retreat- 
 ing into the doorway. " Thou art as some barbarous 
 Scythian who takes the sacred vessels from the Temple 
 to misuse them ! If thou do murder, thou shalt be cast 
 into outer darkness ! " 
 
 " Drive me not to despair, Bernice. I must do this 
 deed." 
 
 " Thou mockest me ! Cruel bloody heart ! " 
 
 " I mock not." 
 
 " Say then by yea or nay, thou wilt shed man's blood 
 no more." 
 
 " Bernice ! Bernice ! Thou asketh that thou know- 
 est not! Thou art but woman. Wouldst make of me 
 a slinking dog for men to spit upon ? Wouldst have me 
 betray the life of my friend? " 
 
 But the girl was deaf to the appeal. 
 
 " Promise me this ! " she demanded. " Or I trample 
 thy love under my foot as a thing unclean ! " 
 
 Groaning, he seized his temples and glared about him. 
 The dreadful look of his fiery eyes in the dark terrified 
 her. She pushed shut the door quickly and barred it. 
 She was barely in time. 
 
 " Never ! " he screamed in an unrecognisable voice, 
 harsh and menacing as the cry of a wolf. " Never will
 
 BETHANY 199 
 
 I promise ! I will not ! Though I suffer the pangs of 
 hell forever, I will not! Where is that mad carpenter 
 who hath bewitched thee! Let him show me another 
 way ! Let him save Barabbas without blood ! " He 
 flung himself against the barred door and beat upon 
 it with his fists while Bernice listened breathlessly in- 
 side. " Let the carpenter appear ! " he roared. " Let 
 him save Barabbas, then! Else will I pitch him and 
 all his mad teachings into the fires of Gehenna ! " 
 
 He raged out his rage until it left him speechless. 
 And afterwards he would have still remained on the 
 doorstep. But Nadab, who had perceived the ap- 
 proach of neighbours, came and pulled him by the hand 
 and drew him away.
 
 PART THREE 
 THE PASSOVER 
 
 THE seventh winter of Pontius Pilate's procura- 
 torship brought dark foreboding upon all Judea. 
 Everywhere, not only in Judea but northward 
 in Samaria and Galilee and westward along the Phoeni- 
 cian coast, spread a vague sense of impending change. 
 The imaginations of the people grew big with hope or 
 dread. They began to discover portents in the stars, 
 in the aspects of clouds, in the flight of birds. 
 
 Wars and famines were predicted from an untimely 
 growth upon the fig trees and abortive births among the 
 flocks. 
 
 The yeast of discontent was everywhere at work 
 among the poor. 
 
 A long drought, followed by floods, had left 
 the common people wellnigh destitute. Their sub- 
 stance was devoured by usurers. At some places 
 resistance was offered to the tax-gatherers. The High- 
 priest's servants under Malchus, who collected the tithes 
 from threshing-floors and vineyards, had often to wrest 
 them away by force. The hordes of slaves with which 
 the Roman conquests had flooded the markets of the 
 
 201
 
 202 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 world had borne down the wages of free labourers and 
 left many idle. Even the small landholders who la- 
 boured on their own land could obtain no more than a 
 bare existence. 
 
 The ignorant and oppressed laid their troubles to 
 various supernatural causes. They flocked together 
 and listened greedily to whoever arose and proposed 
 some measure of relief. 
 
 It was inevitable at such a time that the old legend of 
 a divine deliverer coming to bring justice and happiness 
 to the earth that despairing prayer of the downtrod- 
 den of all ages and lands should be revived. Ancient 
 prophecies of the Messiah renewed their appeal to the 
 imaginations of the lowly as in the turbulent days of 
 Judas of Gamala. 
 
 Meantime, east of Jordan the robber bands ranged 
 almost at will. Twice that winter, on the route between 
 Babylon and the coast, they swooped down upon the 
 huge armed caravans of John of Petra. 
 
 It was repeatedly declared that Hyrcanus had escaped 
 alive out of the sedition at Jerusalem, although re- 
 ported slain, and was dwelling in a community of Es- 
 senes on the borders of Gadara. This rumour was 
 believed by some and rejected by others. But the ter- 
 ror of his name had ceased. His following in Jerusalem 
 and Judea had been entirely crushed. The Pharisees, 
 the party of the prosperous, who acquiesced in the over- 
 lordship of Rome, appreciating the opportunities for 
 commercial enterprise which an international peace af- 
 forded, enlarged their pride and pretensions on every 
 side.
 
 THE PASSOVER 203 
 
 Thus the affairs of the kingdom stood as the time of 
 the Passover drew near. Tiberius Caesar had not yet 
 appointed a king to the Judean throne. Herod's great 
 white palace on Zion still stood vacant, although a 
 swarm of greedy aspirants besieged the villa of the em- 
 peror at Capri. Perhaps Caesar's delay was due to the 
 political craft of Annas and the powerful middle-class 
 which he represented. 
 
 The great national festival, assembling the multitude 
 to the number of several millions in and about Jerusalem, 
 filled the rulers always with keen apprehension. 
 
 It was at the Passover that revolts against the gov- 
 erning powers usually broke out. That was the most 
 opportune time to overthrow the established rule and 
 sweep away all law and authority. It needed but an 
 infectious rallying-cry to lift the huge multitude against 
 its masters like a stormy sea. Innovators realised this 
 also, and at such times most eagerly sought to spread 
 their doctrines. 
 
 The Roman governor, alert to the danger from past 
 experience, always strongly reinforced the garrison at 
 Jerusalem about the first of the month Nisan, and him- 
 self repaired thither with pomp of brass-clad legionaries 
 and axe-bearing lictors, for the trial of criminals. This 
 extraordinary display of military force and stern exe- 
 cution of imperial justice was designed to overawe any 
 popular discontent. Barabbas' trial was delayed on 
 that account. 
 
 The great pilgrimage up to the Holy City that year 
 from all parts of Palestine began before the barley had 
 ripened for harvest. Raw, cold, wet winter was past.
 
 204 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 In the air was the whistle of birds tiny bluebirds 
 alighting on curved blades of grass, crested larks that 
 flitted about the feet of the traveller, grave, modest 
 storks, and everywhere graceful turtle-doves. The 
 fields foamed with those bright daisies called, since then, 
 the white star of Bethlehem, with scarlet poppies, 
 anemones, lilies. On the soft winds butterflies drifted 
 like winged blossoms, gorgeous, delicate. Around the 
 hilltop-villages sheep and kine grazed in the fresh 
 meadows of grass. 
 
 Great companies of pilgrims began to go up to Jeru- 
 salem with songs and shoutings, as if no misery or 
 oppression dwelt in the land. Tens of thousands of 
 those from the north country crossed east of Jordan to 
 avoid the half-hostile, despised Samaritans. They 
 marched over the sterile hills and burning plain to 
 Bethabara. 
 
 Emboldened by numbers they braved the region of 
 robbers with various rude weapons, attired in gay 
 tribal colours, heartening the way by songs to which 
 were added the clashing of cymbals and piping of flutes. 
 
 They were glad when they emerged from the rugged 
 defiles. The first sight of Jordan drew from all an 
 exultant shout. At Bethabara they disported them- 
 selves like children, running, playing, calling from bank 
 to bank, laughing, and bathing, while the pack-animals 
 splashed and waded through the ford. 
 
 Amid this joyous tumult strangers could join the 
 innumerable bands of pilgrims unheeded. 
 
 It was the sixth day of Nisan, an hour before the 
 noon heat. Two travellers in scarlet-bordered grey caps
 
 THE PASSOVER 205 
 
 and cloaks which betokened them to be Babylonian 
 Jews descended from a near-by clump of feathery tam- 
 arisks. One was leading a small ringstraked ass laden 
 with provision. 
 
 They quietly crossed the river into Judea. 
 
 He who led the ass had suffered the loss of an eye 
 and hand, but his remaining eye darted over the varie- 
 gated scene with a keen look not devoid of mirth. 
 
 A covert sign called his companion's attention to 
 something as they stood wringing the water from the 
 skirts of their garments. That other, tall and straight 
 and sinewy, resembling more a young Arab sheik than 
 the peaceful Babylonian merchant his garb proclaimed, 
 nodded. 
 
 " It is well, Nadab," said he in a low voice. " Four 
 score and ten have crossed and mingled among the pil- 
 grims. Now cometh old Phalec with the last troop, 
 every man clad like unto a shepherd of Perea and hav- 
 ing his sword hid under his cloak. Give no signal, 
 he seeth us. Let us make haste and depart." 
 
 But after going up a short distance from the river, 
 he stopped and laid his hand on the mute's shoulder. 
 
 " Yonder I perceive, Nadab, a great number of Gali- 
 leans wearing the red garments of the lowly. Watch 
 thou. I too will watch. The maiden may be somewhere 
 amongst them. It cometh to my mind that she would 
 walk a little apart from the others, with that elder 
 woman. If thou seest her, speak quickly." 
 
 The Galileans moved over the white chalk -plain to- 
 wards the distant palms of Jericho in a great cheerful, 
 disorderly company. Smooth-lipped youths and black-
 
 206 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 beards trudged with bundles, goatskin bottles, and 
 staves. The younger women and the middle-aged walked 
 beside them sharing their burdens ; but the older women 
 and the white-bearded patriarchs sat upon the asses and 
 camels and held the babies. The half -grown children 
 frisked noisily along the roadside with the dogs. 
 
 Hyrcanus leaned upon his staff and scanned the 
 faces that passed. Many of the Galileans wondering at 
 the intent eyes of the Babylonian stranger saluted 
 him. 
 
 " He seeketh a lost kinsman," they said among them- 
 selves. Several inquired of him his name and whom 
 he sought. 
 
 " Kur the son of Caleb am I called," he said briefly. 
 " I am a stranger in the land of my fathers." 
 
 When all the throng had gone by, he turned sadly to 
 his silent companion. 
 
 " Ever this reaching out, ever these empty hands ! 
 Thou wouldst not believe, Nadab, how ill it is here at 
 my heart. God knoweth if she be still amongst the 
 living ! " He stood a while, then struck his clenched 
 hand upon his breast, frowning. " What though it 
 were vouchsafed me to look upon her face again! It 
 would avail me naught. My purpose is hung as a front- 
 let between mine eyes. Gird up thy loins, my friend ; 
 we must journey far beyond Jericho ere nightfall." 
 
 They turned into one of the less travelled by-paths. 
 The little ass was nimble; they proceeded much more 
 quickly than the crowds of stuff-encumbered pilgrims. 
 Soon they reached the cultivated fields, where the way 
 was cooled by overspreading fronds of date-palms.
 
 THE PASSOVER 207 
 
 After a short halt for refreshment, they pressed forward 
 and in the cool of the day arrived at Jericho. 
 
 The pleasant city which Cleopatra had once sunned 
 with her sinful beauty and where great Herod had died, 
 was on the direct route of travel from the East to 
 Jerusalem. It was now flooded with crowds that had 
 halted there a while on their way up to the Feast. 
 
 The white streets were aswarm. Rustics laid off 
 their clumsy bundles in the shade of classic buildings, 
 rested under the balsamodendrons or scented shrubs, and 
 cooled their parched, dusty feet in the flashing fountains 
 that poured from the King's Baths. Under the cool 
 Portico of Herod and on the steps of the ivory House 
 of Cleopatra loitered hundreds. And ever more and 
 more flowed in at the tower-capped city-gates, a noisy 
 rabble of men, women, children, camels, asses, dogs. 
 
 It was a multitude made up chiefly of artisans and 
 field-workers. As Hyrcanus and Nadab penetrated into 
 the city, they found on all sides the red Galilean scarves. 
 Whichever way the eye turned, it was filled with patches 
 of glowing colour never quiet, like beds of poppies in a 
 wind-raked meadow. The westering sun blazed behind 
 the tall marble columns of the Temple of Zeus and cast 
 long purple shadows down the street. 
 
 Hyrcanus noted the expressions on the faces of the 
 people. 
 
 " Some strange thing is about to come to pass," said 
 he, and drew Nadab a little aside out of the press. " Let 
 us watch." 
 
 They waited in the shade under a high wall. 
 
 The crowds had begun to block the narrow way.
 
 208 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 Many heads looked down from the housetops. On all 
 faces appeared a fixed expectancy. Some men and boys 
 had climbed up into a leafy sycamore the better to see 
 over the people. One of them, a fat, bald, little man, 
 hung far out from a limb peering towards the Bethabara 
 Gate at the foot of the street. Voices here and there 
 called up to him. 
 
 " Look again, Zacchaeus ! . . . Discernest thou 
 naught ? . . . Who entereth now ? " 
 
 The little man continually shook his head, crying 
 down, 
 
 " Naught, naught . . . Wait ! lo 1 . . . Nay, it 
 was but some woman who fell in the way before a camel. 
 She is up now, they shake her garments laughing. 
 But soon soon he cometh! Oh, blessed hour!" 
 
 Other voices meanwhile, at Hyrcanus's elbow, began 
 to grumble at the conduct of the little man: 
 
 " But what a hypocrite ! Zacchaeus would have us to 
 believe that zeal burneth him up." 
 
 u Is ft not this same zealous one that collects the 
 tax?" 
 
 " He hath prospered by grinding the faces of the 
 poor. Yet now he shouteth for the new kingdom louder 
 than any ! " 
 
 " He hopes perhaps to obtain a fat office under the 
 new kingdom also." 
 
 Some one mildly defended the object of their cen- 
 sure, 
 
 " Wherefore art thou so severe against him, my Bar- 
 sabas? Soughtest thou not that office thyself vainly 
 in former days ? "
 
 THE PASSOVER 209 
 
 " That was ere ever there was talk of this new king- 
 dom!" 
 
 " But Zacchaeus hath laboured day and night for the 
 new kingdom. Here in Jericho hath he drawn many 
 unto it. And if he helpeth to bring the better things 
 of the new kingdom, what blame if he have lived well 
 under the old? " 
 
 Another voice, a woman's, chimed in, 
 
 " More honour unto Zacchseus, say I, for that his 
 riches have not hardened his heart ! " 
 
 " That thou, I, and Demas here should be for the 
 new kingdom I see clearly ! " exclaimed the man called 
 Barsabas. " Naught have we to lose but our chains. 
 This fat Zacchaeus however . . ." 
 
 " Ah, thou seest but the loaves and fishes ! " said 
 Demas. 
 
 " I see a liar also ! " 
 
 " Hath not the kurios oft rebuked just that spirit 
 in thee? Zacchaeus might well endure the present rule. 
 Yet he thinketh not of himself but of the wrongs of the 
 poor. Thou thinkest but of thine own." 
 
 " Blind mouth! Who made Demas to be a judge in 
 Israel!" 
 
 " Nay, Barsabas," cried the other warmly, " what art 
 thou but a dog that growls over a feast at everyone 
 although there is enough for all? " 
 
 " A dog am I ? I spit upon thee ! Who was thy 
 father!" 
 
 The disputants became enraged. Their tones grew 
 shrill and high. They gesticulated in the frantic Ori- 
 ental fashion, clawing the air. They shook their out-
 
 210 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 spread fingers under each other's noses. Every instant 
 they seemed about to fall to blows. 
 
 In the midst of the dispute Zacchasus cried out and was 
 seen pointing towards the gate. His cry re-echoed from 
 lip to lip. The angry words perished at once, forgot- 
 ten. Everyone stood atiptoe, straining to see over in- 
 tervening heads. A deep murmur like a swarming of 
 bees hummed along the dense throngs. Presently a pro- 
 longed uproar, a noise of acclamation, began at the 
 Bethabara Gate and rolled like a wave the length of the 
 street. 
 
 A commotion of some sort was visible advancing 
 slowly. 
 
 After a while it could be seen that a group of newly 
 arrived pilgrims was trying to push forward. They 
 were greeted by enthusiastic salutations and their prog- 
 ress continually interrupted by people who, too impa- 
 tient, too curious, rushed in and jammed the way. From 
 the housetops many red scarves and banners of the 
 eranoi were being waved. 
 
 And now Hyrcanus, being taller than those before 
 him, perceived the cause of the excitement. A group 
 of persons, both men and women, travel-stained and 
 dusty, were trying to proceed through the joyous tumult. 
 Their smiling faces were soiled and wet with perspira- 
 tion. Conspicuous amongst them shone the shaggy red 
 head and beard and sunburnt visage of Simon Barjona. 
 
 But there walked one whose face, discerned amid the 
 tossing crowd, held the eye like a calm star shining amid 
 a thunderstorm.
 
 THE PASSOVER 211 
 
 He walked with that droop of the thin shoulders which 
 came of toil at the carpenter's bench. He had the stiff 
 unelastic tread of the labourer, the bearer of burdens. 
 Furrows of old effort creased his sunburnt forehead. 
 In years he was between thirty and forty, which among 
 the labouring class was middle age. His eyes, large, 
 dark, and strangely luminous, rested upon the thronging 
 faces about him with a mild gladness. 
 
 This slight, dark-bearded man, prematurely bent, was 
 the proscribed carpenter of Nazareth, the leader of the 
 movement to set up a new kingdom. 
 
 As Jesus drew near and perceived Zacchseus in the 
 sycamore tree, he beckoned him to come down and spoke 
 some words to him. The fat little tax-gatherer de- 
 scended joyously, pushed through the by-standers, and 
 opened the door of a house that stood across the way. 
 
 It was apparent at once to all that the Jcurios had 
 conferred upon Zacchaeus the special distinction of enter- 
 taining him and his immediate followers. A grumbling 
 murmur spread. Protests sounded on every side against 
 this unpopular choice. Loudest rose the voice of Bar- 
 sabas : 
 
 " Doth the Jcurios become the guest of this sinner ! 
 this tax-grasper! He picketh out his favourites from 
 amongst the rich ones that prey upon the poor! In the 
 new kingdom shall men like unto Zacchasus be given the 
 high places ? " 
 
 Jesus turned at the threshold of the publican's house 
 to confront this swelling clamour of disapproval. He 
 stood on the steps, elevated a little above the crowd, and
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 it could be seen that his large, brown, tool-distorted hand 
 rested upon the head of some child beside him. Around 
 the foot of the steps clustered his chosen band of men 
 and women, wedged in by the forward-pressing multi- 
 tude. 
 
 He began to speak. At first the exclamations around 
 drowned out his voice. But as his lips were seen to be 
 moving, people cried " Hush ! " They thrust one an- 
 other with their elbows for silence. They stood on tip- 
 toe, craning their necks. Swiftly an intent quiet pre- 
 vailed. 
 
 That incomparable voice, clear, simple, probing 
 straight to the truth of the heart and mind like a law 
 of nature, reached out over the crowd farther and 
 farther. Its spell descended upon them. 
 
 He employed a parable, as was his wont, to explain 
 why on his triumphal return to Jericho he was conferring 
 this special mark of favour upon the unpopular but 
 zealous Zacchseus. 
 
 The parable was of a nobleman who on his departure 
 into a far country to obtain a kingdom had entrusted 
 to each of his servants whom he left in charge of his 
 local affairs a mina of silver, saying " Keep busy 12 till 
 I come." 
 
 By this time all ears were straining to hear the tale. 
 The allusion was plain enough. There was no groping 
 by these simple working people after some mystical in- 
 terpretation for it. Was not Jesus the nobleman who 
 had departed on the affairs of the new kingdom? Had 
 he not left the work at Jericho in the charge of his fol- 
 lowers there?
 
 THE PASSOVER 213 
 
 The words of Jesus had now become clearly audible. 
 He employed occasional quiet gestures, a lifting of those 
 brown tool-marked hands. 
 
 " But the citizens of the place hated him and sent a 
 message after him, saying, * We will not have this man to 
 reign over us.' And it came to pass that when he re- 
 turned having obtained the kingdom, he commanded 
 those servants to be called unto him to whom he had 
 given the money, that he might know how much every 
 man had gained by trading. 
 
 " Then came the first, saying, * Kurios, thy mina 
 hath gained ten minae.' And he said unto him, * Well, 
 thou good servant. Because thou hast been faithful in 
 a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.' 
 
 " And the second came, saying, ' Kurios, thy mina 
 hath gained five mvnae.' And he said likewise to him, 
 * Be thou also over five cities.' " 
 
 Carrying the simple narrative to its conclusion, the 
 teacher showed thereby the wisdom and justice of ap- 
 pointing his helpers to positions of authority in the 
 new kingdom according to the zeal and ability they had 
 demonstrated beforehand in the good cause. And long 
 before he had ended, his auditors were nodding one to 
 another. 
 
 "Lo, he hath heard how that Zacchaeus laboured here 
 in Jericho for the new kingdom both by day and night 
 and hath brought ten converts unto us." 
 
 " Ten? By this head, that little Zacchams hath per- 
 suaded three score men and women! Oft have I seen 
 him go by my shop at evening to discourse with them 
 that work at the potteries ! "
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " Nay, they that have laboured most for the new 
 kingdom should indeed obtain the preferment ! " 
 
 " See now, Barsabas ! In the new kingdom honours 
 will be apportioned according to service. What service 
 hast thou rendered? " 
 
 Hold thy peace ! " 
 
 Meantime the carpenter had gone into the house of 
 Zacchaeus. 
 
 A number of men were seen to follow him, headed by 
 red Simon Barjona, and also a few women, perhaps half 
 a dozen. These ascended by ones and twos above the 
 crowd, quickly mounted the steps, and disappeared 
 within the open doorway. Last of all went up the tall, 
 pale Magdalene. 
 
 " Lo, Nadab ! " cried Hyrcanus in a stifled voice. 
 " Beside her entereth also a smaller woman, her face half 
 hidden by the white kerchief. She turns ... It is! 
 It is . . ." 
 
 He made as if to rush forward through the people, 
 but restrained himself. 
 
 " Let us be gone ! " he said. " My sins have found 
 me out."
 
 II 
 
 HYRCANUS beckoned to Nadab, and the two 
 went quickly down a by-lane, leading the laden 
 ass. They went through another street to the 
 Jerusalem Gate and pushed on past rich suburban gar- 
 dens of pomegranates and figs. 
 
 On the hillside a little to the west of Jericho a large 
 khan had been built for the accommodation of travellers, 
 which was over-full at that time. Hundreds of pilgrims 
 had stabled their pack-animals and pegged out their 
 black tents of skins in the neighbouring fields. They 
 had kindled fires and were clustered about them in 
 throngs preparing the evening meal or eating or loiter- 
 ing hither and thither under the yellow flush of sunset. 
 
 It was not the purpose of Hyrcanus to halt at the 
 khan. The shades of evening found him climbing a 
 steep path into the darkling barren mountains. 
 
 Night fell, but still he strode onward with unabated 
 vigour. In his preoccupation of mind he might have 
 journeyed till morning, had not Nadab plucked at his 
 cloak and directed his attention to the ass, which drooped 
 its ears dejectedly and began to drag backward upon 
 the halter. 
 
 " What meanest thou ! " said Hyrcanus, starting out 
 of a reverie. "Oh, the little beast? it asketh 
 mercy." And he looked about him for somewhere to 
 
 pass the night. 
 
 215
 
 216 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 He chose presently a tiny glade at some distance 
 from the path, carpeted with verdure. Rock-roses 
 bloomed in the crannied wall of cliffs. The two men 
 watered and fed the ass, ate their own meal of dates and 
 bread, wrapped their cloaks about them, and lay down 
 to sleep. 
 
 Nadab slumbered soon, breathing heavily. 
 
 But Hyrcanus could not sleep. He lay upon his 
 back and looked up at the stars which gleamed far and 
 cold above the black mountain-peaks. The innumerable 
 flowers perfumed the air. An incense of gladness 
 seemed to descend from them upon the falling dew. 
 
 A good ways off on the main road he heard the noise 
 of multitudes still ascending the rocky passes towards 
 the heights. As they toiled impetuously upward and 
 onward towards Zion, they filled the wilderness with loud 
 shemas and hosannas. 
 
 Intermingled with the triumphal chanting of infinite 
 voices were audible at times a clashing of brazen cym- 
 bals, the shrill tootle of flutes, and the strumming of 
 many-stringed instruments. 
 
 This immense volume of sounds rolled on and on 
 through the night with a vastness and endlessness that 
 were awe-inspiring. It seemed that all the earth, its 
 nations, peoples, and tongues, was pouring like a deluge 
 upon the Holy City. 
 
 After much listening, 
 
 " What am I," murmured Hyrcanus, " but a pebble 
 in the hand of God, to be flung whithersoever he will! 
 Yea, and Bernice also ! " 
 
 And he turned upon his side and slept.
 
 THE PASSOVER 217 
 
 In the dusk of dawn the two wayfarers arose, par- 
 took of food, tied the pack upon the ass, and continued 
 their journey. 
 
 They used the time diligently, and late in the after- 
 noon descended the evening slopes of the desolate moun- 
 tains towards Bethany. 
 
 Preparations for the great national Feast had already 
 transformed the environs of Jerusalem. Mizpeh, Olivet, 
 Gibeon, and the wide plain of Rephaim were mushroomed 
 with tents, the hasty growth of the hour. Everywhere 
 clustered green booths, wattled of twigs and leaves, 
 called succoth. Multitudinous heaps of baggage lit- 
 tered the ground. The landscape seethed with myriads 
 of men, women, children, sheep, goats, camels, and 
 asses. The lepers had been driven back into the region 
 of tombs along the Cedron. 
 
 New crowds of pilgrims continually poured in by 
 every path, trudging afoot with staff and bundle, or 
 mounted on animals. They bore green fronds of palm 
 and branches of myrtle plucked from wayside trees. 
 Dust-clouds on the horizon marked the approach of 
 yet other thousands. 
 
 Streams from the east, north, and south met at 
 Bethany, which seemed to be submerged by these joyous 
 invaders. They mingled shouting and singing, in an 
 enormous confusion; but each group wore its tribal 
 colours, and among the vivid stripings of green, crimson, 
 white, and azure, a constant coagulation was going on. 
 
 More tents, more wattled booths, continually arose. 
 Innumerable women and girls were hurrying to and from 
 Siloam or Enrogel with bottles and jars. Thousands
 
 218 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 upon thousands of cooking-fires had been kindled in the 
 fields. Threads of smoke twisted up. It was as if the 
 whole world smouldered, ready to burst into huge con- 
 flagration. 
 
 The Galileans had been wont from immemorial times to 
 pitch their tents on the ridge of Olivet north of the 
 upper road. Here the foliaged slope appeared from 
 afar like an ant-hill swarming with red ants. As Hyr- 
 canus and Nadab drew nearer, they found the men, 
 women, boys, and girls all furiously at work erecting 
 the temporary habitations. For it was the seventh 
 day of Nisan. At sunset the Sabbath would begin. 
 
 Hyrcanus's present mission at Jerusalem required 
 secrecy. He did not enter Bethany to revisit his humble 
 friends there, but went by the upper road over the 
 Mount of Olives. 
 
 He came over the brow of the hill not far from those 
 two giant cedars at the top, whose branches served for 
 an asylum to clouds of doves. 
 
 Of a sudden he beheld again the scene of his over- 
 throw. 
 
 Dead events poured vividly back upon his mind, and 
 he stood lost in despair, gnawing his hands. The sight 
 of the far-flung white palaces of the Upper City beyond 
 the Temple, still shining in the last rays of the sun, 
 filled him with a poignant anguish. 
 
 But then quickly, he knew not how, all grief was dried 
 out of his soul as if a strong wind had blown through it. 
 He gazed about him overwhelmed by awe, like one whose 
 private sorrows are suddenly extinguished and forgotten 
 in a great cataclysm of nature.
 
 THE PASSOVER 219 
 
 It was a world of tents. Israel had come up like a 
 flood about Jerusalem. The men of Hebron lay on the 
 plain of Rephaim. The hosts of Sharon swarmed upon 
 Mount Gibeon. The lines and groups of the vast 
 encampment could be followed down the valley of 
 Gihon, covering the low land about Siloam, speckling 
 the grand masses of hill from Olivet to Mispeh, and 
 trespassing even upon the Mount of Offence. A nation 
 was gathered there by millions in an amphitheatre fitted 
 for the enactment of a world-drama, a tragedy of 
 the ages. 
 
 While Hyrcanus watched, the sun went down. A 
 sonorous trumpet pealed from the Temple. The Sab- 
 bath had begun. 
 
 It put a period to the huge hum of industry. Under 
 the diaphanous amber light of evening all the world 
 ceased from toil and became silent. Only in the courts 
 of the Temple the activity of business still continued, 
 the changing of money, the selling of cattle, sheep, and 
 fowls for sacrifice ; only in the Temple there was 
 no Sabbath. 
 
 Hyrcanus looked down across the darkening vale 
 of Jehoshaphat into the Temple area; and long after- 
 wards that scene remained in his mind's eye with a 
 peculiar distinctness. 
 
 He saw the white-robed people walking by twos and 
 threes through the paved courts and pillared porches. 
 There was the outer or gentile court, of general traffic, 
 with what was styled Solomon's Porch. Behind and 
 above it ascended the successive inner courts in graceful 
 colonnades, stairs, and chambers of terraced marble,
 
 220 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 till at the top, with front and cressets of burnished gold, 
 soared the Holy of Holies. 
 
 Below this magnificent masonry of Herod fell the 
 scarp of Mount Moriah, a prodigious breast of wall, 
 abrupt and deep, down into the sombre valley. That 
 dark vale beneath, whose grey rock was shaped into in- 
 numerable cold tombs, lurked at the foot of the Temple 
 like a curse. It was death's blot upon the aspirations 
 of man. No living thing seemed to dwell therein ; even 
 the quick birds steered over it in silent fear. 
 
 A mile to the south the river-bed opened and 
 brightened around Siloam and the ruined tower. Imme- 
 diately north of the Temple frowned the squat, square 
 citadel of Antonia, with a Roman sentry on the turret. 
 
 Behind this imposing stretch of foreground spread 
 the wide undulation of house-clad hills. The saffron 
 afterglow illuminated the white flat houses and the 
 gaudy pavilions erected on their tops. 
 
 Hyrcanus gazed long upon the scene. 
 
 " Verily the city is arrayed as a bride for her bride- 
 groom," he said aloud at last, and turned and beckoned 
 to the mute. 
 
 They descended the slope of Olivet, passed through 
 the plantation of figs called Bethphage, and entered 
 Jerusalem by the Horse Gate south of the Temple. 
 
 Traversing the priests' prosperous quarter called 
 Ophel, they made their way to a humble inn not far from 
 the great bridge over the Xystus, which was kept by a 
 Greek, Demetrius by name. 
 
 Accommodation had been purchased here many days 
 in advance for Kur the Babylonian and his friend.
 
 THE PASSOVER 221 
 
 They had but to make themselves known to have their 
 wants speedily supplied. 
 
 The inn was crowded with guests who had come up 
 to the feast. They swarmed about the inn-yard ; and 
 among them were noticeable certain swarthy men, at- 
 tired some as sheep-dealers of Perea, some as caravan- 
 guards, who marked keenly the entrance of Hyrcanus 
 and on various pretexts came forward to salute him. 
 
 These were of that chosen band with whose help Hyr- 
 canus designed to rescue Barabbas. But for the present 
 he could only bid them wait and watch. 
 
 On the morrow until sunset the observance of the 
 Sabbath held the great orthodox multitude within doors. 
 The streets were deserted save by the beggars, who, an 
 incredible horde, howled on. They dragged their 
 maimed limbs and sores past the shut houses of the 
 pious and rich, lifting the shrill, terrible, eternal scream 
 for alms. This dreary sound alone pervaded the day 
 of the Lord. 
 
 At sunset the ban was lifted, the people poured forth 
 into the streets and market-places, and the ordinary 
 cries of crowded busy traffic resumed. 
 
 Hyrcanus left his inn at this hour and visited certain 
 places in the Upper and Lower Cities where lodging had 
 been provided for small, separate parties of his men. 
 When he had completed this round of inspection, the 
 second watch had sounded. He returned towards his 
 own quarters. 
 
 The night was clear but dark, with light, variable 
 winds. The slender sickle of the new moon hung low 
 over Rephaim. Broad shadows spread from the house-
 
 222 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 tops. Hyrcanus walked slowly, his mind firm and braced 
 like a harness for war, but troubled by gloomy appre- 
 hensions. He followed a narrow lane, scarcely noting 
 his surroundings, till a mass of Cyclopean stonework 
 blocked the way. Then he looked up in surprise and 
 saw that he stood at the foot of the lofty Temple wall. 
 
 He stared upward, and a mysterious sense of its 
 power oppressed him. This huge foundation of the 
 Mosaic Law, marked by the Tyrean bevel, which had 
 withstood the storms of centuries, seemed established for 
 all the future ages. It was incredible that it could ever 
 be overturned. 
 
 In the dim light he looked about him. He was in a 
 wretched neighbourhood, a neglected huddle of squalor 
 and want, over which the enormous Temple, stony and 
 sublime, aspiring to the heavens, cast its blighting 
 shadow. A thought, vague, unshaped, somehow took 
 hold of him. He felt that a day of retribution was at 
 hand. Something ominous haunted the air. The 
 winds, which were caught and repelled by the mighty 
 wall of stonework, hung breathless here as if awaiting an 
 event. 
 
 It was an unendurable sensation. He hastened to re- 
 trace his steps, and coming sharply out of the lane into 
 a broader street that was lighted by the moon, brushed 
 against a small, old woman just around the corner. She 
 had shrunk vainly against the house. 
 
 " Nay, mother, I designed no harm unto thee," he 
 said, and stopped. 
 
 The woman trembling sought to hide behind her some 
 large article.
 
 
 Her face, thinned and furrowed with the premature 
 age of the poor, became visible in the moonlight as she 
 peered up at him, blinking wistfully, half reassured by 
 his kind words. 
 
 " What f earest thou ? " he asked, perceiving that she 
 wore the rustic garb of a Galilean villager. 
 
 " I fear thieves, lord," she stammered. " A most 
 honest personage is my lord! I see that now as mine 
 own thumb! Yet there be a many thieves abroad 
 nights, they say. And I be a stranger from the north 
 country and lost in these dark streets that run so 
 crooked in and out like worm-tracks in old wood." 
 
 " What hidest thou, mother, with such anxious care 
 behind thee? " 
 
 She gave a great start. 
 
 " Oh, my lord, it is but a coat ! " 
 
 "Why hide it then?" 
 
 " It is my son's new coat, an my lord please. Yea, 
 the work of mine own fingers every stitch. And of 
 the best wool of Esdraelon too ! None better is to be 
 bought with money." Pride struggled a moment 
 against her caution and overcame it. She spread out 
 the garment, holding it up in the moonlight. " May it 
 please my lord to look now, for I perceive my lord is 
 an honest man. Not one seam will he find not a 
 one ! " Her work-shrivelled claw smoothed down the 
 folds. " Nay, search as my lord will, not a seam ! 
 Every stitch, too, the work of mine own fingers. 
 Never a grander coat will be seen among all the chief 
 priests at the festival ! See now here how it is hemmed, 
 being tucked under a full two fingers' breadth ! All
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 the best Galilean fleece! Late I wrought with my 
 needle . . ." 
 
 "Is thy son a priest?" exclaimed Hyrcanus, in- 
 terrupting the flow of her simple garrulity. 
 
 " Oh, no, my lord ! A carpenter is my son. We 
 are of Nazareth in Galilee, a mean town, my lord 
 knoweth. Joseph my husband did follow the car- 
 penter's trade at Nazareth, ere ever these hard times 
 befell. And I, Mary, his wife was expert with my 
 needle . . . Only now mine eyes grow duller, close by, 
 thus ; farther off thus I see yet clearly, God be 
 thanked! Thou wouldst marvel how clearly! Even 
 by candlelight I see to thread my needle . . ." 
 
 " Where thinkest thou to find thy son at such an 
 hour?" 
 
 A look of doubt touched the old childlike eyes. 
 
 " Nay, Annas and they that are in authority are 
 filled with ire against my son. It was it was, me- 
 thinks, because of some foolish speeches . . . Nay, and 
 I ... and I ... My lord may not perchance be of 
 the new kingdom ? " 
 
 Hyrcanus struck his hand upon his breast. 
 
 " As God liveth, I know not how to be of that new 
 kingdom, little mother! Yet do I not contemn it." 
 
 " I perceive my lord designeth not evil," said the 
 little woman eagerly. " And if my lord would but set 
 my feet in the way unto the hill of the Galileans ! 
 nay, I sewed so late upon the coat ! And these streets ! 
 They are as threads tangled in the weaving. Hasten- 
 ing I lost my ways among them. It is so dark! The 
 moon is gone down almost ! And so many thieves ! "
 
 THE PASSOVER 225 
 
 " Have no fear, little mother. I will guide thee 
 across the dark valley, where thou mayest then con- 
 tinue on in peace to find thy son." 
 
 " God is good to me ! I will tell my son how that 
 thou didst befriend me in the night ! "
 
 Ill 
 
 A LITTLE after sunrise on the first day of the 
 week, throngs of people hurried eastward 
 through the streets of Jerusalem. Excited 
 rumours flew from tongue to tongue. Some said one 
 thing, some another; but there was a continual point- 
 ing up at the Mount of Olives, where on the grey- 
 green top, around the two cedars, swarmed red scarves 
 and cloaks. The frequenters of the bazaars and mar- 
 ket-stalls, drawn by curiosity, joined the passing 
 crowds. Thus all the city appeared to be pouring out 
 to Bethphage. 
 
 In truth, Jesus the proscribed carpenter was about 
 to enter Jerusalem in open defiance of the authorities. 
 
 As he rode down from Bethany, seated on a white ass, 
 surrounded by his chief supporters, a mighty shout 
 reverberated. An ecstasy of joy seized the adherents 
 of the new kingdom, who, although a minority amongst 
 the spectators, dominated the whole mass by their 
 active enthusiasm. Those who bore palm-branches 
 cast them in the path of their leader or spread their 
 mantles before the hoofs of the beast that bore him. 
 
 " Hosanna ! " they cried. " Blessed be he that 
 cometh in the Lord's name ! Blessed be the kingdom of 
 our father David ! Hosanna ! Hosanna ! " 
 
 His chosen ones had flung their cloaks upon the ass. 
 
 They marched in compact array about it, exultant, 
 
 226
 
 THE PASSOVER 227 
 
 heads erect, eyes sparkling. But in the eyes of Jesus 
 tears gleamed, when he beheld that great city and its 
 multitude poured out to greet him. 
 
 Meantime, as though the heavens reflected the un- 
 certain struggle commencing below, clouds warred with 
 the sun. Sunshine and shadow swept alternately over 
 the hill and the grey old city-walls. An unexpected 
 rumble of thunder sounded. Jesus glanced up. 
 
 Voices in the superstitious crowd immediately ex- 
 claimed, " An angel spake to him ! An angel 
 spake to him ! " 
 
 The carpenter however looking about him said, 
 
 " This rumble 13 came not because of me but for 
 your sakes. Now is the crisis 14 of this world ! Now 
 shall the ruler 15 of this world be cast out ! And I, if 
 I be exalted above the soil, 16 will draw all men up unto 
 me!" 
 
 When he had come to the foot of the long stairs 
 leading up to the Temple, he dismounted from the ass 
 and ascended and entered the Gentile Court by the 
 Gate Beautiful. A clamorous host flooded up behind 
 and around him. 
 
 The magnificent outer or Gentile Court of the 
 Temple contained the city bourse or exchange, where 
 merchants, traders, and money-lenders met to transact 
 business. Herod had lavished the riches of his treasury 
 and artistic taste upon its porticos and colonnades. 
 Around the inner wall ran, above, the famous bronze- 
 latticed cloisters for women, sustained on rows of col- 
 umns exquisitely wrought, the capitals ornamented by 
 carved figures of acanthus and water-leaf. The shaded
 
 228 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 walk under these cloisters had come to be known as 
 Solomon's Porch perhaps from some popular quip 
 at that ancient monarch's famous proclivity for the 
 women. Here on the cool marble pavement, which was 
 inlaid with stones of many colours, the brokers had 
 their hhanoth or stalls. 
 
 Leading into the Gentile Court were many noble 
 gates on all sides. That on the east was the one by 
 which the carpenter entered. 
 
 At the time Jesus at the head of a noisy rabble burst 
 in, the exchange was well filled already with respectable 
 citizens. It was the busiest hour of the day, and busi- 
 ness had not stopped to ascertain the cause of the tu- 
 mult outside. The brokers could not have abandoned 
 their stalls and money-piles in any event. And their 
 customers had seen fit to remain for a concerted pur- 
 pose. These prosperous men held, with scarce an ex- 
 ception, the most conservative principles. They, be- 
 ing well provided for under prevailing conditions, saw 
 no need of change. They ascribed the public discon- 
 tent and unrest entirely to agitators. To belittle the 
 demagogue Jesus and his revolutionary doctrines by an 
 ostentatious indifference was therefore their instinctive 
 course. 
 
 They hoped that the impressive sight of substantial 
 merchants calmly pursuing the customary routine of 
 trade would restore public confidence and avert the 
 danger. 
 
 But when Jesus entering beheld their activities, he 
 became as one transformed. His eyes flamed, he 
 rushed among them crying,
 
 THE PASSOVER 
 
 " It is written, ' My house shall be called the 
 house of prayer,' but ye have made it a den of 
 thieves ! " 
 
 Amid an enormous uproar he boldly overthrew the 
 money-tables. The heaps of coins showered upon the 
 floor. Vainly the owners shrieked strove to push 
 him back to get their property into hiding. He 
 seized a whip of small cords and drove them before him. 
 Table after table crashed down. Like worthless hail- 
 stones the deluge of money jingled, clinked, rolled, and 
 rattled all about the tessellated pavement. 
 
 A mad scramble ensued. The rabble, delirious at the 
 sight, tumbled over one another, snatched, pounced 
 hither and thither, wrestled, fought, and roared with 
 laughter. 
 
 And now was observed a strange reversal of man- 
 ner. 
 
 To those dignified optimates it was as if the end of the 
 world had come. This rebellious artisan dared to lift 
 his hand against their sacred rights of private property 
 and scatter it to all the world! A moment they stood 
 aghast. Then as fortunes dissolved before their eyes, 
 they too plunged into the scramble. 
 
 Men who a moment ago had been deploring with high- 
 sounding phrases the base passions of the greedy mob 
 that sought to overturn ancient institutions and destroy 
 ancient landmarks set by the fathers for the maintenance 
 of justice, men of great benevolence of mien who had 
 assumed an attitude of superiority to selfish gain, 
 now dropped upon all fours and out-scrambled the most 
 frantic beggar or cripple in snatching for the pennies.
 
 230 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 The ignoble scuffle soon ended. The money had dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 Thereupon the throng of brokers and merchants 
 turned with impotent fury upon Jesus and reviled him 
 for a robber and thief. They screamed out against the 
 injustice of this man who had divided the savings of 
 thrift amongst the idle and wasteful. But the hoots 
 and threats of the rabble drove them down into the 
 city. 
 
 As a conqueror the demagogue remained in posses- 
 sion of the Gentile Court. He began to expound to 
 the multitude the new rules of justice that were to 
 obtain between men in the new kingdom. 
 
 Immense throngs pushed up the various stairs and 
 squeezed in at the various gates to listen. It seemed 
 throughout the day that he was winning all the world 
 to him. The beggars, harlots, outcasts the lost 
 sheep of Israel who had nothing under the existing 
 system, acclaimed him. Great numbers of the ar- 
 tisans, fishermen, and tillers of the soil, members of the 
 eranoi, in whose secret councils these ideas had long 
 been discussed, were for the innovation. There were 
 even a few men of rank and power, such as Nicodemus, 
 who had a seat in the Sanhedrim, and the wealthy 
 Joseph of Arimathea, secretly inclined to it. 
 
 But there remained still to be reckoned with the two 
 dominant powers in the Judean government. 
 
 There was first the prosperous class, the Pharisees, 
 which controlled both church and state, using politics 
 and religion to advance their own material interests but 
 having support from all the naturally servile and con-
 
 THE PASSOVER 231 
 
 servative arid unthinking ones under them an enor- 
 mous weight of inertia. 
 
 And back of the Pharisees, like a huge reserve, only 
 to be drawn upon as a last resort, loomed the over- 
 whelming power of imperial Rome. 
 
 Hyrcanus, who had witnessed the public events de- 
 scribed, returned to his inn at the cool of day. He 
 was going through the narrow little street under the 
 bridge, when his cloak was twitched from behind. He 
 turned and beheld Nadab. 
 
 The mute had been set to watch the entrance of the 
 inn, as a precaution against spies; and from his fa- 
 miliarity with the faces of Annas's emissaries, he was 
 peculiarly well fitted for such a task. 
 
 Now by a quick sign he indicated two men just 
 entering the inn-door. 
 
 One was of moderate stature, plump, with a short 
 black beard, glossy and crinkled, and full scarlet lips on 
 which an habitual smile basked. He was at once suave 
 and assured of manner. The other was taller but 
 thinner, of a more discouraged appearance. 
 
 Both were attired like petty tradesmen. They en- 
 tered the inn, crossed the dirty court, and stood be- 
 side the stable-wall, well apart from other frequenters 
 of the yard, in earnest conference. One would have 
 supposed them to be a pair of merchants who had 
 slipped in from the noisy, crowded street to bargain a 
 moment over a camel-load of Sidonian cutlery. Put- 
 ting their heads together, they talked softly, with swift 
 gestures.
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 Nadab's signs to Hyrcanus, however, indicated that 
 the first of those two was Malchus, the servant of the 
 Highpriest. 
 
 Here was disquieting news. 
 
 Malchus was a personage notorious throughout all 
 Judea, at once feared, hated, and envied by the popu- 
 lace. Of the lowest birth, in fact a freedman, he had 
 risen to affluence and power under Annas by lending 
 himself as an astute and merciless instrument for the 
 oppression of his own class. 
 
 It was he who directed the seizure of threshing-floors, 
 cattle, and houses for delinquent tithes, and performed 
 those other ugly duties in the maintenance of govern- 
 ment, to which his masters did not wish to stoop, al- 
 though they profited by them. He was the sort of in- 
 valuable servant that the optimates hailed as an ex- 
 ample of low-born success ; but the people would have 
 stoned him, had they dared. 
 
 Such a one's presence in the humble inn, attired as 
 a petty tradesman to avoid recognition, caused Hyr- 
 canus to act quickly. 
 
 " Go thou in, Nadab," said he. " Post thyself un- 
 observed at that window of the stable, which is above 
 their heads. Then will I openly enter in their sight. 
 Do thou observe and hearken, for thine ear is of the 
 keenness of the fox. If their purpose be evil against 
 us, lift thy hand thus. But if their design be not di- 
 rected against us, lift then thy hand thus." 
 
 Nadab bided his time a moment and entered beside 
 a pair of asses that, with full loads of firewood, were 
 being driven into the yard.
 
 THE PASSOVER 233 
 
 It was but a short while before his scarred face ap- 
 peared cautiously at an opening in the stable, above 
 the heads of the suspected men. 
 
 Hyrcanus strode openly in across the yard. A score 
 of his swarthy sheep-dealers and caravan-guards were 
 loitering about the enclosure at the time. A dozen of 
 them were in the shade under the pillars of the house, 
 grouped about three who, squatting on their heels, 
 gambled with pebbles. As Hyrcanus passed, he lifted 
 a fold of his Babylonian garment. 
 
 This was an agreed-on signal. The disguised rob- 
 bers, thus warned, made sure of their weapons under 
 their cloaks and drew a little more together, unobtru- 
 sively. The three in the middle pretended to go on 
 with their gambling. But all were on the alert. At a 
 word from their leader they were prepared to slay 
 like cattle everyone within that place. 
 
 Hyrcanus drew near the stable, fixing his eyes upon 
 the two men there. His manner compelled them to 
 take notice of him. Thrice he paced slowly by. They 
 put their heads closer together and muttered excitedly, 
 while Nadab leaned out above with stealth and listened. 
 
 It was evident that Malchus was unalarmed by Hyr- 
 canus's sharp looks; he returned the gaze contemp- 
 tuously. But his companion was more disturbed. And 
 presently they hastened out of the inn-yard. 
 
 The signal which would have doomed them was with- 
 held. 
 
 After a moment Nadab emerged from the stable. 
 
 " What sought they ? " Hyrcanus inquired of him. 
 
 Malchus, it seemed, had been instructing the other,
 
 234 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 who was a common spy, to mingle amongst the in- 
 novators and ascertain if possible their plans. If an 
 opportunity arose of arresting Jesus without exciting 
 the mob to violence, the spy was to report it at once. 
 The unexampled boldness of the popular leader and 
 the favour he had found among the people had discon- 
 certed the governing authorities for the moment. They 
 dared not provoke a tumult while that great multitude 
 lay in and about the city, ready perhaps to hearken to 
 any appeal to prejudice or passion. The forces of 
 law and order were momentarily powerless ; but they 
 were only biding their time. 
 
 The revelation of this plot of the Pharisees to seize 
 the carpenter by stealth troubled Hyrcanus strangely. 
 He reflected upon it for a little while, and then went 
 out and ascended towards the Temple. 
 
 Day was almost ended, but a slow river of people 
 still pushed up the long, wide, stone staircase into the 
 Temple. Their advance was continually delayed by 
 counter-currents of those descending. Innumerable 
 voices talked, disputed, questioned. On all faces dwelt 
 a changed look flushed, pale, exultant, scowling, or 
 loose-hung with mere stupid amaze. But on that 
 great day no one remained entirely unstirred. 
 
 Hyrcanus at last attained the Gentile Court. 
 
 Purple shadows had begun to darken the magnifi- 
 cent portico under the cloisters. The sun's glowing 
 wheel rested on the Plain of Rephaim; the portico be- 
 ing on the eastward side of the Temple was in semi- 
 twilight already. Overturned stalls and benches were 
 strewn about the marble pavement and heaped against 

 
 THE PASSOVER 235 
 
 the massive pillars like wreckage in an arena after a 
 hard-fought day. In the air was something feverish, 
 triumphant. The red mantles of labour clustered 
 everywhere. 
 
 Jesus had ended his public discourse. The crowds 
 had been slowly thinning. But still an unappeased 
 eagerness to behold him kept a dense circle about the 
 spot where he stood between two rows of columns. 
 Surrounded thus, he was invisible except to the inner- 
 most. 
 
 As Hyrcanus moved about the outskirts of the 
 throng, looking for some suitable person to whom he 
 might impart his warning, he felt himself abruptly and 
 roughly thrust out of the way of one who came rushing 
 against him from behind. 
 
 A sturdy red-haired man attempted to plunge into the 
 circle. 
 
 Hyrcanus caught him by his coarse cloak and re- 
 strained him. "Barjona!" 
 
 " Let be ! let be ! " exclaimed the fisherman, tug- 
 ging to free his garment, unmindful of who detained. 
 
 " But stay a breathing-space, Simon. I have a word 
 for thee." 
 
 " Have loose, say I ! I am in haste ! " 
 
 The day's great events had wrought Simon to a 
 fervent heat resembling fever. His red hair was fly- 
 ing wild, his big, strong face wet with sweat and flushed 
 dark through its sunburn, his eyes like stars. He was 
 as one who after long grapple tastes the first sweets of 
 victory. 
 
 Finding himself still withheld, he whirled violently
 
 236 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 about. " Canst thou not free my cloak from thy . . . 
 Ah ! Is it thou ! " he cried, recognising Hyrcanus, and 
 clasped him to his heaving chest. 
 
 " Far have I come, with eager steps, Simon." 
 
 " To behold the setting up of the new kingdom ! " 
 
 " Yea, and on other matters." 
 
 " Oh, hast thou beheld this day ! Hosanna ! The 
 acceptable day of the Lord ! Oh, blessed art thou ! 
 blessed all who witnessed it! How the word hath 
 brought forth since that hour when the kurios stood 
 up and proclaimed good news to the poor ! 1T heal- 
 ing to the discouraged ! 18 freedom to slaves ! 
 sight to the blind ! relief to the bruised ! Hosanna ! 
 Hosanna ! Make him victorious ! " 
 
 He poured out these exultant cries, his strong voice 
 swelling to an ever more resonant compass, in spite of 
 Hyrcanus's efforts to shake him into silence. 
 
 " Peace ! Peace ! Hopest thou to stupefy the rul- 
 ing powers by this noise? " And Hyrcanus whispered 
 into his ear. 
 
 Even then Barjona descended only a little from his 
 pinnacle of ecstasy. 
 
 " It is naught ! It is naught ! By day they dare 
 not seize him because of the multitude. And by night 
 they shall seek long ere they find him ! Nay, we have 
 planned it well ! He sleepeth not within doors ! How 
 then may they compass him ! . . . But yet I would 
 I had a sword ! " 
 
 " Mine shalt thou have." 
 
 He accepted eagerly the sharp sword, girded it to 
 his thigh, and smote it with his broad palm.
 
 THE PASSOVER 237 
 
 " I thank thee ! " he cried. " Unskilled is this hand 
 in the use of such tools, but if need be, they shall feel 
 the weight of an arm that hath dragged many nets! 
 I thank thee ! How may I requite thee ! " 
 
 " That mightest thou by two words, Simon." 
 
 The fisherman looked shrewdly into Hyrcanus's 
 thinned face. 
 
 " Thou seekest her still? " 
 
 " What are my days and nights without her ! They 
 are as vinegar to my soul. Speak to me of her, Simon." 
 
 " Thou sufferest according to the will of God." 
 
 "Hath she then forgot me?" demanded Hyrcanus 
 fiercely. 
 
 Barjona struggled against a rising smile. 
 
 '* I fear she is of the same clay as thyself. Mine 
 ear hath been troubled of late by words sounding some- 
 what like unto thine." 
 
 " Where is she ! that I may fly upon the wind to 
 her!" 
 
 " Nay, wait thou until the Passover. If then thou 
 come to the house of Lazarus at Bethany with thy 
 hands unstained by blood . . . Why dost thou grind 
 thy teeth and look aghast ? " 
 
 Hyrcanus's face had darkened. 
 
 " By God's wrath," he said bitterly, " I am mocked ! " 
 
 He turned upon his heel, wrapped his cloak closer 
 about him, and went gloomily out of the Temple. 
 
 The sun had sunk. 
 
 Under the splendour of the afterglow the grey city 
 beneath already brooded in sad twilight. That great 
 flood of people that all day long had flowed up the
 
 238 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 Temple-stairs was departing. Rivers of heads were 
 pouring out through the gates and down into the lower 
 shadows. 
 
 The cold wind of night seemed to have chilled all 
 hearts. Something had vanished from the first warm 
 glory and gleam. 
 
 The people flowed out and down almost in silence, 
 to disappear among the narrow streets. 
 
 Only a multitudinous dull murmur sounded, like the 
 voice of an ebbing tide.
 
 IV 
 
 IN the white moonlight of sleeping Bethany, Hyr- 
 canus came over the hill and down the village road 
 to the little garden he knew so well. From the 
 words Barjona had let fall a temptation had sprung 
 which, growing with the hours, had at last drawn his 
 feet hither through the sweet spring night. 
 
 The gate was shut and obdurate, the windows of the 
 house closed like seals on a forbidden book. 
 
 He entered the garden, passed beneath the rippling 
 olive trees, his sandals crunching lightly on the beaten 
 path, and approached the door. 
 
 In his heart was still a kind of fighting ; but, strangled 
 by wild desire, he yielded to the abject impulse. He 
 would clasp the girl in his arms again, look into her 
 dark eyes, and feel her warm, soft lips on his, cost what 
 it might. For after all what was Barabbas to him ! 
 
 And so he lifted his hand to knock. 
 
 In the very act a spirit seemed to draw him back- 
 ward by the hair. A low, gasping cry sounded in his 
 ear, 
 
 " Save me, Master! I served ihee! Thou owest me 
 this! " 
 
 Had a voice really spoken? He stared about him 
 into the thick shadow. His blood hitherto so hot and 
 
 eager ran cold. 
 
 239
 
 240 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 It mattered little that the ghostly sound resolved it- 
 self into the low scraping and rubbing of a breeze-stirred 
 bough against the wall. He drew back a step, then 
 another. Shame and remorse chilled him to the deepest 
 depths of his soul. 
 
 While he stood motionless in the middle of the path, 
 someone began to sing softly at the latticed window 
 above. The words, indistinct, rather hummed than 
 spoken, melted upon his ear, 
 
 " We have piped unto you, 
 
 And ye have not danced; 
 We have mourned unto you, 
 And ye have not wept." 
 
 A sprig of the fragrant Rose of Sharon came flit- 
 ting down and fell at his feet. 
 
 " Bernice ! " he panted. 
 
 "Hyrcanus!" she answered joyfully. "At last 
 thou art come! Wait, my beloved, and I will open to 
 thee." 
 
 He started forward again, but stopped, and stuffed 
 his thumbs into his ears. 
 
 " I am lost lost for all the ages ! " he cried, and 
 turned, burst madly through the gate, and fled. 
 
 He rushed up the road. 
 
 All through that night he wandered upon the hills 
 like one demented. Among the huddled tents and 
 booths, dogs barked at him, and sometimes men, 
 aroused, peered forth and challenged him. But he 
 wandered on and on unheeding. 
 
 The city-gates were reopened at dawn. He 
 traversed the streets with haggard mien, arrived at last
 
 THE PASSOVER 241 
 
 at the little inn under the bridge, and cast himself upon 
 his bed. 
 
 Later in the day Nadab brought him news of such 
 moment as roused his flagging energies. The location 
 of Barabbas's dungeon had been ascertained by means 
 of a bribe. The robber lay in chains underneath 
 Strato's Tower in the citadel of Antonia. 
 
 " Strato's Tower ! " said Hyrcanus, rising. " Ill- 
 omened is that spot for me and mine ! There was slain 
 of old Antigonus by his brother the king. Neverthe- 
 less a new thought hath come into my mind." 
 
 From the inner Temple to Strato's Tower extended 
 a covered passage or tunnel, built by King Herod in 
 former times to guard against popular seditions. This 
 hidden way had fallen into disuse since the Roman oc- 
 cupation. The thought which had occurred to Hyr- 
 canus was, that the way might prove to be carelessly 
 guarded, affording a means of entering by stealth into 
 the citadel. 
 
 He arose, therefore, and went up to the Temple, at- 
 tired in his scarlet-bordered grey cap and Babylonian 
 cloak. 
 
 He mingled with the stream of people that ascended 
 the broad steps. It was yet early in the day, but un- 
 usual crowds were already hastening towards the Gen- 
 tile Court. He followed, aware that some new event 
 impended. 
 
 Simultaneously with his entrance from the west, an 
 immense throng, swarming noisily about Jesus the car- 
 penter, poured up from the east. 
 
 The Gentile Court was still strewn with the broken
 
 242 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 benches and debris of yesterday. But now under the 
 wall of the royal cloisters, among the Corinthian col- 
 umns of Solomon's Porch, stood a compact group of 
 scribes, priests, and elders. 
 
 The sun blazing above the green head of Olivet shone 
 in across the wide mosaic pavement with long broad 
 beams of warm colour. It basked upon the imposing 
 forms and keen intellectual features of those men. 
 
 Conspicuous against the sunlight, in their garments 
 of fine white linen and azure, they coolly awaited the ap- 
 proach of the red-garbed rabble and its leader. They 
 were like a small but well-trained force opposed to a 
 disorderly mob. 
 
 The struggle had indeed assumed a new phase. 
 
 The optimates had already rallied from their initial 
 defeat. Night intervening had given them time to take 
 counsel together and adopt plans for saving the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Annas and the others realised that for the moment 
 arms could not be employed to crush the innovation. 
 Nothing less than the Roman soldiery could accomplish 
 that. And the Roman troops could not be brought in 
 to put down a local disturbance which did not involve 
 rebellion against the empire. 
 
 But while pretexts were being devised to obtain the 
 intervention of the imperial soldiers, steps must be 
 taken to check the growth of the new movement. 
 
 The optimates saw clearly that the multitude ac- 
 claimed the seditious carpenter with enthusiasm; but 
 it was rather a personal popularity than belief as yet 
 In his new kingdom which drew them to him. The
 
 THE PASSOVER 248 
 
 great masses of people were slow to accept new ideas. 
 A habit of unquestioning obedience to tradition and 
 established forms held them back. The issue was still 
 trembling in the balance. 
 
 If now the carpenter's shallow pretentions to knowl- 
 edge could be held up to ridicule before his admirers, 
 if his ignorance and presumption could be exposed, the 
 influence he wielded over the imaginations of the un- 
 thinking rabble would be weakened. 
 
 For that purpose a chosen few had been put forward. 
 
 These that now stood quietly waiting in Solomon's 
 Porch were judges, counsellors, and lawyers trained in 
 the best schools of learning, with wits sharpened by in- 
 cessant public discussion. Foremost among them stood 
 Phinehas, the astute leader of the Sanhedrim. 
 
 As Jesus walked forward, seeming to be pushed on by 
 the jostling crowd, several of the opposing group 
 politely saluted him. In these courtesies was a slight 
 derision. 
 
 Jesus perceived their purpose to speak to him and 
 stopped. 
 
 The bald-browed lean Phinehas opened the verbal 
 combat. 
 
 " By what authority doest thou these things ? " he 
 asked. His gesture, quiet and stern, indicated the over- 
 turned money-tables and wrecked stalls. " And who 
 gave thee this authority to do these things? " 
 
 The calm, firm air of the spokesman and indeed of 
 all the optimates suggested what in their hearts they 
 felt, that they were there as the embodiment of law, 
 order, and justice, that retributive power before which
 
 244 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 the boldest law-breaker must instinctively shrink. In 
 their eyes the carpenter was a mere rioter, a seditious 
 brawler. 
 
 A moment Jesus stood silent. Faint murmurs rippled 
 over the crowd which pressed around. 
 
 Then Jesus lifted his head and looked into the faces 
 of his accusers. 
 
 " I will also ask of you one question. Answer me, 
 and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 
 The baptism of John was it from heaven, or of 
 men?" 
 
 John's was a formidable name to hurl at those in 
 high places, who had opposed his agitation. That 
 fierce denouncer of the crimes of rulers had been canon- 
 ised in the hearts of the common people since his death. 
 Applause broke out at the mention of the great popular 
 leader whom the rulers had slain. 
 
 This counter-question was unexpectedly adroit. 
 The dignified champions of established government be- 
 trayed a swift confusion. They mutely interrogated 
 one another with their eyes. If they replied, " From 
 heaven," they stood convicted by their own words of 
 having opposed a just movement. But if they denied 
 the justice of John's agitation, they feared that the 
 people would stone them. They were nonplussed, and 
 at length Phinehas somewhat lamely answered, 
 
 " We cannot tell." 
 
 " Then," said the carpenter, " neither tell I you by 
 what authority I do these things." 
 
 He looked slowly about the circle of intent faces. 
 His grave, luminous eyes seemed to comprehend them
 
 THE PASSOVER 245 
 
 all. His voice increasing in volume rang back from 
 the cloister wall, clear and strong in the silence. 
 
 " But what think ye ! A man had two sons. And 
 he came to the first and said, * Son, go work today in 
 my vineyard.' He answered and said, * I will not ! ' but 
 afterwards he repented and went. And he came to 
 the second and said likewise. And he answered and 
 said, ' I go, sir,' and went not. Which of those two 
 did the will of his father? " 
 
 " The first ! " exclaimed many voices. 
 
 The brown forefinger of the carpenter pointed 
 straight into the faces of the expounders of law. He 
 seemed to grow in stature before them. 
 
 " Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and 
 harlots go into the kingdom of God before you! For 
 John came to you in the cause of justice, 19 and ye be- 
 lieved him not. But the publicans and harlots believed 
 him. And ye, when ye had seen, changed not after- 
 wards that ye might believe him." 
 
 Amid the vociferous approval of the by-standers, 
 Jesus continued, 
 
 " Hear another parable. A certain householder 
 planted a vineyard and hedged it round and digged a 
 winepress in it and built a tower, and let it out to 
 tenants and went into a far country. And when the 
 time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the 
 tenants, that they might receive the fruits of it. And 
 the tenants took his servants and beat one, and killed 
 another, and stoned another. Again he sent other 
 servants, more than the first; and they did unto them 
 likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son,
 
 246 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 saying, * They will reverence my son.' But when the 
 tenants saw the son, they said among themselves, ' This 
 is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and let us seize on 
 his inheritance ! ' And they caught him and cast him 
 out of the vineyard and slew him. When the Jcurios 
 therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto 
 those tenants ? " 
 
 Some already perceived the terrible allusion, from 
 what had gone before. The vineyard was the land of 
 Israel. The servants who had come successively were 
 the ancient prophets they who had stood up for the 
 oppressed and denounced the rulers for their greed and 
 lust. And the last and best, the son, was John. 
 
 Hot and angry came the cry, 
 
 " He will miserably destroy those wicked men and will 
 let out his vineyard unto other tenants who shall render 
 him the fruits in their seasons ! " 
 
 And once more the carpenter's rough forefinger 
 pointed its accusation into the disconcerted faces of 
 the optimates. 
 
 " Did ye never read in the Scriptures, ' The stone 
 which the builders rejected, the same is become the head 
 of the corner: this is the Lord's doing and it is mar- 
 vellous in our eyes ! ' Therefore say I unto you, God's 
 kingdom shall be taken from you and given to people 
 bringing forth the fruits thereof ! And whosoever shall 
 fall on this stone shall be broken : but on whomsoever it 
 shall fall, it will grind him to powder ! " 
 
 The very law itself, which the Pharisees assumed to 
 uphold, was being hurled against them. From ac- 
 cusers they had somehow, unawares, become the ac-
 
 THE PASSOVER 247 
 
 cused. The positions were reversed. The optimates 
 as a class stood on trial, it seemed, before the people, 
 charged with the rejection and death of John, whose 
 cause was now claimed by this later demagogue. It was 
 a disagreeable predicament, even dangerous. They be- 
 gan to slip away singly, or by twos and threes, amid the 
 taunts and derisive cries of the mob. 
 
 Phinehas saw his forces deserting him. 
 
 But he smoothed his bald white forehead and still 
 mustered a smile. Skilled in the subtleties of the law, 
 he was not one to be routed by a horn-fisted artisan, 
 even though that person displayed a remarkable talent 
 for sounding a popular chord. Nor was he to be 
 daunted by public clamour; he had maintained too 
 many disfavoured causes before the tribunals for 
 that. 
 
 And when the remaining optimates beheld Phinehas's 
 unruffled composure, they drew new breath of hope. 
 They knew him to be a man of infinite resource. 
 
 He waited till the noise subsided. On his thin lips 
 dwelt a smile but one degree removed from a sneer. 
 
 His smooth, courteous voice became audible, 
 
 " Teacher, we know that thou art straightforward 
 and carest for no man. For thou regardest not the 
 countenance 20 of men but teachest God's way for the 
 sake of truth. Is it right to give tribute to Caesar or 
 not ? Shall we give or shall we not give ? " 
 
 Here indeed was a trap for the demagogue as sharp 
 as his own; and those behind Phinehas, noting how the 
 carpenter paused, nudged each other with covert glee. 
 
 A great public question of the times was involved in
 
 248 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 the matter of payment of the tribute-money to Cassar. 
 It must be paid in Roman coinage, which, since the 
 Roman Senate had decreed for Augustus the divine 
 title of divus or god, bore that appellation surrounding 
 the image of the late emperor. The religious prej- 
 udice of the Jewish populace conceived therefore the 
 payment of the tribute to be in fact a trick to make 
 them render homage to a foreign god. 
 
 Now if Jesus declared for payment of the tribute, he 
 exposed himself to the charge of heresy, or at least in- 
 curred the public disfavour. If on the other hand he 
 declared against the payment, he might be charged with 
 inciting rebellion against the emperor, which would 
 afford the much-desired excuse for calling in the foreign 
 soldiery to crush the revolt. 
 
 But the carpenter's furrowed face showed an open 
 scorn of this hypocrisy. 
 
 *' Why tempt ye me ! Bring me a penny, that I may 
 see it." 
 
 He turned as if in search of the tamias or treasurer 
 of his organisation. But the tamias, who carried the 
 bag, was missing. Phinehas handed him a silver coin. 
 Jesus held it up. 
 
 " Whose is this image and superscription ? " 
 
 " Caesar's." 
 
 " Render to Caesar the things that are Cassar's, and 
 to God the things that are God's ! " And he returned 
 him the coin. 
 
 So splendidly had he avoided the trap, making even 
 out of this a further rebuke to the moneyed classes, 
 that a universal shout, not unmingled with laughter,
 
 THE PASSOVER 249 
 
 rolled and reverberated under the Corinthian columns 
 of the Porch. 
 
 The bald brow of Phinehas was suffused with crim- 
 son shame. The remnant of the optimates were fleeing 
 before that storm of ridicule like frightened sheep, 
 down into the city. He wrapped his mantle about his 
 face to hide his chagrin and also fled. 
 
 Again the carpenter had triumphed.
 
 AMID the general excitement which attended the 
 discomfiture of the Pharisees, Hyrcanus 
 ascended the few steps leading to the inner en- 
 closure. Even the Serjeants of the Temple, whose 
 swords guarded the sacred portals, had been lured a 
 moment from their posts by the dramatic spectacle 
 outside. Hyrcanus gained the Court of Israelites, 
 sometimes called the Sanctuary, unnoticed and un- 
 challenged. 
 
 The wall compassing this enclosure bore an inscrip- 
 tion decreeing death to any gentile who trod therein. 
 
 Here were the offices, guard-room, and Llshcath-ha- 
 gazith or hall of hewn stones where the Sanhedrim as- 
 sembled. Facing the porch of the Holy Place rose the 
 magnificent Nicanor Gate, fashioned of gleaming Corin- 
 thian brass. 
 
 Fortune aided Hyrcanus. There happened to be no 
 one about the inner court at the moment to take heed 
 to the tall Babylonian merchant. He slipped unob- 
 served into the empty Lishcath-ha-gazith, whose doors 
 stood ajar. 
 
 The hall appeared at first view surprisingly small 
 for the assembly-chamber of the great national senate, 
 because the eye's expectation had been deceived by the 
 
 vast courts and pillars outside. It was, however, an 
 
 250
 
 THE PASSOVER 251 
 
 apartment of noble dimensions, illuminated by windows 
 somewhat narrow and slit-like, high in the wall. The 
 warm daylight turned to quiet grey, melted, and lost 
 strength and colour amongst the carved beams and 
 panels of dark cedar. 
 
 On the tessellated marble floor were spread rich rugs 
 that glowed in the dim light with subdued harmonies. 
 Cushions were heaped circuitously about, where the 
 seventy members of the council were accustomed to sit. 
 At the farther end, facing the door, stood the more ele- 
 vated seats of the Nasi and the Ab-Beth-Din. 
 
 The location of the mouth of Herod's famous con- 
 cealed passage had long been known to Hyrcanus by 
 family tradition. He paused only to assure himself 
 that he was alone in the chamber, and then went quickly 
 behind the throne-chair and lifted the thick tapestry 
 which hung there against the stone wall. 
 
 A glance taught him that no hope lay in this direc- 
 tion. The small, solid, bronze door which closed the 
 tunnel had been securely locked and chained on both 
 sides. It would be impossible to force it open without 
 such noise as would arouse the guards both of the 
 Temple and the citadel. 
 
 The original plan for rescuing Barabbas, namely, to 
 fall suddenly upon the guards at the bema when he was 
 led out for judgment, seemed the most feasible. 
 
 Hyrcanus had lowered the tapestry into place again 
 but was still behind the throne-chair, when he was 
 warned of approaching danger by a murmur of voices. 
 
 Others had entered the LishcatMia-gazith. They 
 were four men, and their actions were peculiar.
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 One posted himself at the outer door as if to watch, 
 held it partly open, and frequently peeped out. The 
 daylight streamed in across his plump, shrewd face, re- 
 vealing a glossy black beard and smiling red mouth. 
 It was Malchus, the Highpriest's servant. 
 
 The other three had advanced into the room. It 
 was almost impossible for Hyrcanus to see them at 
 first without exposing himself to discovery. He 
 crouched behind the chair and waited. 
 
 Presently two voices began to be heard, one uncouth, 
 violently protesting, the other calm, cultured, and kind. 
 
 They came gradually a little nearer. Then he saw 
 them, under the deficient light that spilled down from 
 above. They were standing together within the circuit 
 of cushions. 
 
 This stately form, this high and noble countenance 
 with broad phylacteries and snowy wealth of beard, be- 
 longed to the great priest Annas. 
 
 And the rough red-garbed rustic on whom Annas was 
 bringing all his subtle powers of persuasion to bear, 
 was the missing tamias of the Nazarene fellowship, 
 he who carried the bag. 
 
 A third was present at that interview. He loomed 
 vaguely in shadow behind the shoulder of Annas, 
 neither quite seen nor unseen. Tall, emaciated, he 
 stood and listened in attentive silence and clutched 
 closer about him his dark cloak as if against an ever- 
 consuming chill within, that no warmth of sun or fire 
 could banish. 
 
 A rude hind was the tamias, a sun-tanned short man, 
 flat-browed, broad-nosed, with a wilderness of black
 
 THE PASSOVER 253 
 
 hair and beard. At every word he shook his shaggy 
 head in a manner at once suspicious and unreasoning. 
 
 "No! No! Why brought ye me in hither? I will 
 not ! Thou'rt Highpriest, a simple man I ! Yet I 
 say No to thee ! " 
 
 " But Judas my son, didst thou not declare thy 
 name to be Judas ? if thou wilt but listen . . ." 
 
 " Oh, thou hast baskets of reasons ! camel-loads of 
 reasons ! learned reasons ! Big grand words that 
 sing in the ear like a harp! What know I of your 
 learned reasons? School-learning had I none! Nor 
 my father ere my time! Since ever I was high as this 
 fine pillow look you now ! my father being killed 
 by some devil that pulled down a scaffold on him in 
 Phanuel's field, and six mouths of us at home to feed, 
 since ever that day have I worked at man's work 
 in the vineyards. No better a one wilt thou find with 
 his hands at sickle or plough or pruning-hook I care 
 not what thou namest ! no, not from Chorazin unto 
 Tabor!" 
 
 v But, my son, the ancient laws . . ." 
 
 " Laws ! Laws ! What know I of laws ? High- 
 priest thou at Jerusalem, I Judas of Kerioth, that 
 trimmeth vines at a penny a day, aye, at half penny, 
 work being slack, and the house without milk, whereat 
 my youngest, Prisca, waileth the night through. But 
 what carest thou ! hast ever heard thy children cry 
 of hunger in the night? For all thy learned sayings, 
 I tell thee to thy face No No No!" 
 
 And yet Judas trembled before the great priest with 
 an unconquerable awe of his wealth and rank. He
 
 254 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 fumbled his sheepskin cap in his big black hands, rolled 
 his glistening little eyes, and shuffled his feet uneasily 
 on the splendid floor. 
 
 He gripped his hairy jaw tight. The coarse skin 
 of his low, undeveloped forehead puckered into ridges. 
 He was as one who momently expects to be destroyed 
 for his temerity. But he continued to shake his head. 
 
 Annas employed every art of persuasion, studying 
 his man meantime. Once or twice he exchanged glances 
 with that shadowy figure behind him. His white hand 
 fell with a benignant firmness on the bag-keeper's un- 
 easy shoulder. 
 
 " Thou sayest truth, Judas my son. Naught of 
 laws knowest thou! Else how couldest thou have risen 
 up in wicked rebellion against those whom God hath put 
 in authority ? " 
 
 " I care not ! " cried the man. " I care not a fig ! 
 A poor vine-dresser I, thou Highpriest! I can no 
 more match words with thee than pennies! Thou hast 
 all, I naught ! Thus are our shares portioned unto 
 us, though the kurios saith we be all born brethren ! " 
 
 " Thou art true to thy friends ? " 
 
 "Yea!" 
 
 " I would not have thee otherwise ! But, Judas, mis- 
 takenly thou esteemest that carpenter such a one." 
 
 " What meanest thou ! " 
 
 " Have not thine eyes been opened of late ? " 
 
 " Oh, then thou hast heard perhaps through thy 
 spies how that he suffered the woman to break the pre- 
 cious box of alabaster and anoint him, although I 
 as tamias did protest, and most righteously too, for he
 
 THE PASSOVER 255 
 
 had not ought to have taken unto himself what be- 
 longed to all the fellowship ! " 21 
 
 Injured indignation sounded in the bag-keeper's 
 rough voice. " He rebuked me ! And yet it was he 
 that was in the wrong ! " 
 
 Here he seemed to grow aware of the sly smile of 
 Annas. He clapped his big hand to his own unruly 
 mouth. But it was too late. Annas had perceived the 
 vulnerable point. 
 
 " Thou sayest it, Judas ! Not of thee nor of others 
 doth he consider, but of himself. He leadeth you to 
 destruction for his own gain." 
 
 " Thou canst not trick me thus ! Were thy words 
 as many as young quail in lyyar when wheat ripeneth, 
 they would but fly over my head! Learning of 
 schools ! I will but say no ! " 
 
 " He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, 
 it is folly and shame unto him." 
 
 " I'll not listen ! Thou'lt entangle me with clever 
 words ! " 
 
 He did listen, however, frowning and shaking his 
 shaggy head. 
 
 " A simple labourer art thou, Judas, honest, kindly 
 of heart, meaning well to all. Wittingly thou wouldst 
 not rob or slay any man." 
 
 " Words ! Learned words ! But only words ! " 
 muttered Judas. 
 
 " Thou wouldst not wrongfully take a copper lepton 
 of another!" 
 
 " Nay, this hand laboureth hard for what cometh 
 therein! Rich Phanuel's son sitteth easefully in shade
 
 256 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 and hath lepta a plenty. I that toil in his vineyard 
 under the sun have scarce wherewithal to feed my little 
 ones ! " 
 
 " But now see how I shall unfold to thee thine error. 
 Thine ignorance leadeth thee into crimes. Thy good- 
 ness of heart is imposed upon by designing men." 
 
 " Nay, I stand for the poor ! We will have no more 
 poor ! All men shall be brethren no man master ! " 
 
 " Why, even now thou blasphemest, my son. Do not 
 the Scriptures say, * The rich and poor meet together : 
 the Lord is the maker of them all ' ? Wouldst thou 
 then change what the Lord hath made ? " 
 
 " By this head, I know not ! a poor vine-dres- 
 ser I!" 
 
 Judas tugged distractedly at his black beard. 
 
 61 Thou followest this loud-speaking carpenter be- 
 cause he proclaimeth good tidings to the poor, free- 
 dom to slaves." Annas lifted up his face in an attitude 
 of pity and despair which his long, snowy beard and 
 priestly garments made strangely impressive under the 
 dim mystical light. " O thou all-seeing One ! How 
 long wilt thou suffer thy people to be continually de- 
 luded! How long wilt thou suffer self-seekers to be- 
 guile Israel with false hopes in order to gain for them- 
 selves power and riches! Have not these eyes beheld 
 first one then another ambitious fellow starting up! 
 Have they not all equally promised freedom to slaves, 
 riches to beggars, all things unto all men, if only 
 thereby they might attain their own ends ! " 
 
 " Our kurios is not of that sort." 
 
 " Is he not? Did not the multitude acclaim him Son
 
 THE PASSOVER 257 
 
 of David? Did they not fling up their caps and shout, 
 ' Blessed be the King that cometh in the Lord's name '? 
 And did he rebuke them? " 
 
 " Over and over again, on the highways, in the fields, 
 he hath said unto us . . ." 
 
 " That he seeketh not his own glory but the people's 
 good. O thou simple Judas! Is not yet that ancient 
 lie outworn? So Abimelech declared himself of old 
 time! And Absalom! And Jeroboam! So likewise 
 Theudas ! And that Judas of Galilee who rebelled in the 
 days of the taxing! So have all seditious leaders who 
 would set up a new kingdom proclaimed themselves, to 
 draw men unto them. And so have deluded ones like 
 unto thee, my son, believed on them." 
 
 " Nay, I do believe on him ! Thou tanglest me in 
 words! But I believe on him! He is no shedder of 
 blood ! He pitieth the wrongs of the poor ! I am poor ! 
 All my days have I laboured hard under the sun 
 while the son of rich Phanuel sitteth easefully in shade 
 and receiveth the chief fruits of my labour! Nay, 
 Jesus hath done no wrong! He hath committed no 
 fault ! Yet are ye rich ones all banded against him ! " 
 
 Annas appeared suddenly much astonished. 
 
 " What sayest thou ! the carpenter hath committed 
 no fault!" 
 
 ** He hath broken no law ! Thou canst not name 
 a fault he hath committed, save only to pity the poor 
 that carry the rich upon their backs ! " 
 
 The priest's astonishment seemed to increase as he 
 listened. 
 
 "Why, if this be true, Judas . . ."
 
 258 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 " By my head, it is true ! " 
 
 " Nay, then, what f earest thou ? Thou knowest of 
 a surety we be law-abiding men. It is not we who 
 stir up lawlessness ! We but uphold the law. Thou 
 knowest what safeguards are flung by the law about 
 the accused person. Hast thou not heard, * If any 
 witness shall destroy one soul out of Israel, it is as if 
 he had destroyed the world, and he who saves one, as 
 if he had saved the world? ' If then the law find no 
 fault in Jesus, what power have we against him! We 
 can but release him." 
 
 " Ye seek his death only ! " 
 
 Ignoring the ejaculation Annas earnestly contin- 
 ued, 
 
 " Lo, now ! What a triumph for thy carpenter ! 
 Let him be declared by the Sanhedrim to be innocent 
 of crime, and all men we also will hear him ! It 
 may be that here in Jerusalem we have imagined a wrong 
 thing. We thought this Jesus to be such another one as 
 those former innovators seeking glory, riches, and 
 power. They begin softly. They pity the people's 
 wrongs, stirring up discontent. As they grow in 
 favour and gather the hearts of many men unto them, 
 they oppose openly those in authority. They preach a 
 new kingdom, not that they themselves would wear a 
 crown ! no, they are moved but by indignation for 
 the people, the poor, the oppressed! Ah, God, how 
 they pity the poor! They shed tears over them. At 
 length, having increased the number of their followers, 
 they seize arms. They drench the land in blood. They 
 burn houses, lay desolate the fields, spread death and
 
 THE PASSOVER 259 
 
 pillage throughout the towns all out of pity for the 
 poor! Thus with bloody steps they stride upward to 
 a throne. But having won it, where then are their 
 former promises ! The land groaneth under new bur- 
 dens ! Such an one have we imagined thy carpenter to 
 be. Thou sayest thou believest . . ." 
 
 " I do believe on him ! " cried Judas with desperation. 
 " All these wise words I know not ! Only I know him 
 to be not such an one ! " 
 
 " Thy fears much belie thy words . . . And there 
 was that costly alabaster box which he took unto him- 
 self, nay, thou thyself spakest of it, Judas ! Was 
 that as one thinking only of the poor? Thou darest 
 not put him to the test." 
 
 " Not a word more ! " muttered the peasant hoarsely, 
 pressing his black fist against his mouth. '* I say not 
 a word more ! Some devil was in my tongue ! " 
 
 " Must we then call in the Roman soldiery to slay ? 
 For we who have the law to uphold must be faithful to 
 our trust. And we conceive this Jesus to be bloody- 
 minded and full of evil designs against the Law. Wilt 
 thou by keeping silence permit this to be done? Yea, 
 when one word of thine might spare this sea of blood, 
 might prove thy leader to be without evil, might estab- 
 lish his triumph in peace ! " 
 
 He waited. 
 
 But the Galilean only muttered and continued to 
 press his blackened knuckles against his mouth. 
 
 " Still art thou silent ? " said Annas sternly. 
 
 His voice deepened like a storm of immense fury 
 that hung suspended in air, about to burst. He raised
 
 260 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 himself to his fullest stature and towered high above 
 the cringing bag-keeper. His splendid eyes burning 
 upon the poor man's face abased him to the very 
 earth. The white hand pointed upward out of its 
 snowy sleeve as if to draw down the wrath of God upon 
 such a monstrous sinner. On the upstretched finger 
 the ruby flashed like a red angry star. 
 
 " Unhappy man ! Thou makest thyself to be the 
 ruin of this nation ! Whether the Nazarene be innocent 
 or guilty, thou thou coverest thyself with the 
 blood of thy slaughtered brethren as with a gar- 
 ment!" 
 
 Judas dashed down his sheepskin cap in an ecstasy 
 of bewilderment. He began to pluck at the black tangle 
 of hair on the sides of his head over his ears. 
 
 " Thou hast entangled me ! I knew thou wouldst ! 
 I knew it! I knew it! Thou hast pushed me into a 
 pit ! I am lost lost lost ! " 
 
 At that wild cry, the impending storm was hushed. 
 Annas laid a fatherly hand on the wretch's shoulder. 
 His voice grew wonderfully soft and sweet. 
 
 " But if thou aidest us who would establish law and 
 order, behold how happy thy lot! Thou savest the 
 innocent blood. If thy faith be justified in this teacher 
 of new things, thou givest him the triumph. All men 
 will rise up and call thee blessed. Honours and riches 
 will descend upon thee as rain. Who will be like unto 
 Judas in that new kingdom ! Thou hast been ever a 
 humble worker hast tilled hast trimmed vines, 
 and who hath thought to do thee honour ! But now thou 
 who wast last among men shalt be first."
 
 THE PASSOVER 261 
 
 " Nay, his very words ! " Judas muttered, confused, 
 staring hard at the floor. " His own words ! He did 
 say it ! And I have laboured hard. And others have 
 lived easef ully upon my back rich Phanuel and now 
 his son. If ever I got a copper lepton I paid for it 
 in sweat.'* 
 
 " If thou consent now to save the people from the 
 Roman sword, thy evil days will have passed like a 
 dream. In that new kingdom thou shalt sit in high 
 places. Thou shalt sit amongst the rulers judging 
 men." 
 
 " I ask not for your high places," he muttered in the 
 same stupid, dazed way. " I am none of your learned 
 ones, to be ever judging others. I ask but for a 
 vineyard of mine own. So I be not forced to yield the 
 fruits of my labour unto Phanuel's son that doeth 
 naught. A little vineyard of mine own, set about with 
 trees. Three acres in mine own right . . . My very 
 own! God! Well fenced with prickly pear . . . 
 And a good winepress digged ... So might my chil- 
 dren play about me as I toil. Little Prisca singing and 
 running with loose hair . . . And not too far from 
 market. Near market maketh short haul . . ." 
 
 The audible sounds ceased, but still his lips moved. 
 He stood staring down at his feet and struggling amid 
 thick doubts. His thumbs, splayed and black-nailed, 
 rubbed continually together, while his slow wits wrestled. 
 
 Into the clearer light came suddenly a pale skull-like 
 head. That shadowy figure in sombre garments, which 
 had been hovering behind Annas, had leaned forward. 
 A long fleshless arm and hand thrust forth. A well-
 
 262 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 filled purse clinked with a silvery tinkle. It pushed 
 against Judas's thick, groping, uncertain thumbs. 
 
 Said a low hissing voice, 
 
 " That vineyard thou mayest buy even now. Why 
 wait ? Did he wait when he took the alabaster box unto 
 himself? " 
 
 And those coarse hands which had learned in the bitter 
 school of poverty to grasp for every penny, opened, as 
 it were unconsciously, to receive. 
 
 " True," whispered the bag-keeper. 
 
 In the still air of the council-chamber were heard only 
 the faint jingle of coins and the bag-keeper's deep la- 
 borious breaths. 
 
 Afar, in the outer precinct of the Temple, sounded 
 now and then the clear accents of him who proclaimed 
 to the crowds the new kingdom.
 
 WHEN Hyrcanus at last escaped unobserved 
 from the Lishcath-ha-gazith to the Gentile 
 Court, the crowd was gone. On his return to 
 the inn, he learned from Nadab that Pilate, the Proc- 
 urator, would sit in judgment on the Friday morning 
 before the Passover. 
 
 He busied himself therefore on Tuesday and Wednes- 
 day in perfecting his plot to rescue Barabbas at the 
 bema or judgment-seat. 
 
 It was evident meantime that the enthusiasm for the 
 new kingdom was spreading everywhere among the 
 common people like flame through dry stubble. A revo- 
 lution impended which awaited only a bold call from 
 the carpenter to precipitate itself upon the ruling class 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 As Hyrcanus perceived the drift of talk in the mar- 
 ket-places and the excited spirit of the multitude, he 
 began to chafe at the delay. 
 
 " Now is the time ! " he said to himself, invoking the 
 empty air as if the carpenter stood before him. " Let 
 thy kingdom come ! If thereby Barabbas is saved with- 
 out my hand, verily I could fall down and worship thee 
 as a god ! Save Barabbas ! Save me ! " 
 
 But the call did not sound. The nation hung quiver- 
 ing in the balances. It seemed indeed that he who had 
 ventured thus far against the constituted authorities 
 
 263
 
 264 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 shrank from the final step. The emissaries of Annas 
 sought desperately meanwhile to divide the people on 
 unessential issues an old trick of statecraft. They 
 would have stirred up public disputes on religious dif- 
 ferences touching the resurrection and the great com- 
 mandment of the law. Jesus contented himself with 
 defeating these efforts. 
 
 A singular anger possessed Hyrcanus as each night 
 beheld no change in the established government, that 
 the day had brought forth. 
 
 " Thou mightest save me if thou wouldst ! " he cried 
 with despair. 
 
 Came the eve of unleavened bread, the Preparation 
 for the Passover. 
 
 Hyrcanus had completed his arrangements for the 
 desperate attempt of the morrow. His robbers had re- 
 ceived final instructions as to how they were to mingle 
 with the crowd at the Pretorium and at his signal draw 
 their swords and fall suddenly upon the guards. 
 
 After dark, as he walked through the deserted streets, 
 he heard within the shut houses the joyous singing of 
 the Hillel. He was oppressed by heaviness of spirit, a 
 foreboding of disaster, such as he had never known be- 
 fore. 
 
 Stars burned in the mist-veiled sky with a soft mar- 
 vellous splendour. At intervals one or another fell, 
 shooting down behind the dark summit of Olivet. The 
 new moon hung like a shallow dish above the Holy of 
 Holies, whose golden turrets faintly glistened. 
 
 Hyrcanus had entered that narrow, crooked street 
 afterwards called the Via Dolorosa, when a considerable
 
 THE PASSOVER 265 
 
 troop of men walking rapidly without lights came around 
 a corner from the south. 
 
 He slipped quickly into the black shadow of a gate. 
 
 They came on and passed the gate without perceiving 
 him. 
 
 These night-walkers were neither rabble nor soldiers, 
 but substantial citizens of Jerusalem. Under the 
 glimpses of the moon they seemed to number some 
 thirty in all, vigorous men, everyone armed after some 
 sort, with staff or sword, or both. Their garments 
 showed them to be chiefly Pharisees, the prosperous 
 merchant and trading class, although here and there 
 might be noted a princely Sadducee and three or four 
 upper servants. 
 
 They hurried along towards the Upper City, pre- 
 serving a marked degree of silence, like men bound 
 upon a stern errand. But above the clatter of feet on 
 the stones a repressed voice was audible speaking a 
 name, 
 
 " Annas." 
 
 The curiosity of Hyrcanus was sharply pricked. 
 Possessed by the thought of his own perilous plot, he 
 feared this hidden manoeuvre might in some manner be 
 aimed against it. 
 
 While he stood in doubt what to do, another band 
 turned the corner and came on quietly after the first. 
 One carried a flaming link which revealed this second 
 company to be composed of sergeants of the Temple. 
 The sergeants of the Temple were an organised body, 
 a kind of militia, which had in charge the guarding of 
 the Temple area.
 
 266 
 
 The advancing torchlight swept the shadows out of 
 every nook and angle along the street. Hyrcanus 
 could not remain in the gate without detection. He 
 wrapped his cloak about him and followed after the 
 first band like one who had straggled. 
 
 Thus he found himself pledged unexpectedly to the 
 enterprise. For as the second troop, hurrying, caught 
 up with the rear ranks of the other, Hyrcanus became 
 involved in the midst. 
 
 But although several cast sharp looks at the grey 
 Babylonian costume, no man questioned him. Each 
 troop imagined him to belong to the other. 
 
 They came to the house of Annas, which stood on 
 the eastern slope of the Upper City near by the larger 
 official residence of the Highpriest Caiaphas. The 
 door opened to them without parley, and they filed into 
 the flag-paved court. 
 
 Here were assembled about two hundred men, armed 
 in like manner with swords and staves. The flaming 
 link, held aloft, flung across their stern features shaky 
 streaks of light. Everywhere emerged from darkness 
 swift visions of gripped lips and knitted brows. 
 
 These were not the faces of underlings of common 
 bailiffs, sharked up from the lower order of the popu- 
 lace to perform some commonplace police service for 
 the rulers. These were the well-nourished faces of mem- 
 bers of the upper and middle classes, the bulwark of the 
 ancient institutions of Israel, the patriotic defenders 
 of the law. 
 
 They had assembled for some daring deed. 
 
 In the paved court, under the stars, they waited.
 
 THE PASSOVER 267 
 
 The night was cold. They stood muffled to the chin, 
 spoke seldom to one another, and continually watched 
 the doors of the house. Something extraordinary 
 seemed to be expected. 
 
 Meantime a council was being held inside the house. 
 Three or four belated members of the Sanhedrim came 
 hurriedly through the court and went in. Messengers 
 appeared and disappeared, swiftly coming and going. 
 Doors swung open and shut, venting brief glimpses of 
 the candle-lighted interior. 
 
 By those glimpses Caiaphas was seen to be making 
 some speech. He stood up and violently gestured with 
 one hand; with the other he clutched tightly a fold of 
 his rich blue robe. His full red lips moved to rapid 
 utterance, not loud, but passionate. 
 
 Beyond, appeared the lofty troubled countenance of 
 Annas, framed in its wealth of snowy hair. And again, 
 behind and around Annas were recognisable many faces 
 of the great, rich, and powerful of the realm. 
 
 An elusive outline of a head showed itself at mo- 
 ments, far back in the dusky corner. Phantastic and 
 unreal, it seemed to crane forward out of the shadow, 
 with fleshless finger at play on the pale sunken cheek, 
 listening looking. 
 
 After a quarter of an hour of this excited suspense, 
 two newcomers were admitted at the gate. There was 
 no general sound or movement to indicate the importance 
 of this arrival; but somehow it was felt instantly that 
 this was what had been waited for ; an intense some- 
 thing in these two dark figures slipping through the 
 crowded court up to the door glued all eyes upon them.
 
 268 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 As they entered at the doorway, the light rushed 
 suddenly full against their faces. 
 
 One man was seen to be Malchus, the Highpriest's 
 servant. 
 
 That other, who vainly shrank from the glare with 
 up-flung elbow, that other, whose pallid, perspiring 
 features glistened wet, was the bag-keeper. 
 
 They passed in. The door shut to. 
 
 Another wait followed. 
 
 Then the door opened, and Annas came forth, and all 
 that numerous and lordly throng which had been taking 
 council within. 
 
 A grave gesture by Annas checked the mutter of 
 applause that greeted him. He drew himself up to 
 his full majestic height, so that he towered like Saul 
 above all those around him. Silent a little while, he 
 stood in the light of the torches and gazed into the 
 determined faces of the gathered patriots. At last he 
 spread out over them his white hands. His voice, 
 tremulous with emotion, sounded strangely low and deep. 
 
 " The Lord upholdeth the righteous. My children, 
 into your charge is committed the destiny of Israel this 
 night. Upon you dependeth our salvation, whether 
 our ancient law, our rights and privileges, bestowed 
 upon us by the Most High, shall prevail, or whether 
 they shall be trampled underfoot by an irresponsible 
 rabble." 
 
 A fervent sound, like the solemn tones of a strong 
 wind blowing among cedars, murmured through the 
 dense ranks. Weapons were silently lifted and shaken. 
 
 " We cry unto thee, O Lord," said Annas, raising his
 
 THE PASSOVER 269 
 
 tear-wet eyes to the starry heavens. " Remember, O 
 Lord, what is come upon us ! Consider, and behold our 
 reproach! Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our 
 houses to aliens! Servants have ruled over us! There 
 is none to deliver us out of their hand ! " 
 
 He covered his face a moment, then turned and in- 
 dicated Malchus. 
 
 " My children, behold your leader and guide. Go 
 forth to save our altars and our laws! Into God's 
 keeping I give you." 
 
 They poured quietly out of the court. In the street 
 before the house they halted a few moments to form a 
 more dense and regular column. Then they moved 
 rapidly down northward. 
 
 Jerusalem slept meantime; under the high moon her 
 walls gleamed faintly white.
 
 VII 
 
 MALCHUS, with a perforated lantern, and keep- 
 ing the traitor at his side, had put himself at 
 the head of the column. It moved rapidly 
 through the black, silent streets to the Lower City, 
 turned into the broad military way between the Citadel 
 and the Pretorium, and having passed the grim over- 
 shadowing buttresses of Antonia, wheeled to the right 
 into the squalid defile which led down to the Sheep 
 Gate. 
 
 The Gate stood open, perhaps by private understand- 
 ing with the Procurator or an under-officer. The armed 
 optimates poured out of the city and down into the 
 deep, desolate Valley of Jehoshaphat. 
 
 As they descended, the moonlight failed. Night 
 seemed to close in more thickly about them. The torches 
 flared smokily backwards on the bearers' hands, illu- 
 minating the dismal path with a lurid, unsteady flicker. 
 From the holes of the pierced lantern on ahead, shining 
 rays of light crept along the sterile earth like wriggling 
 serpents. A howling of dogs sounded drearily in the 
 walled city above and on the hills around. 
 
 Hollow darkness engulfed the living like the dead. 
 They moved among myriads of grey ancient tombs. A 
 cold air, much colder than the usual chill of night, per- 
 vaded that place. The pouring sound of footfalls re- 
 verberated with a startling loudness from the steep 
 
 270
 
 THE PASSOVER 371 
 
 rocks. It was as if legions of invisible spirits attended 
 the march. 
 
 Soon, for Malchus led the column on in haste, they 
 had crossed the dry bed of the Cedron and were ascend- 
 ing the wooded slope of Olivet. They began to pass 
 rows of rough little booths and leathern tents pitched 
 wherever a strip of level earth afforded a camping 
 ground. But they climbed on and molested none of 
 the sleepers, and those few who awoke and peered out 
 at the column took it to be some great company of 
 feasters returning late from the city. 
 
 Thus they were brought at last to a fenced place, an 
 abandoned olive-garden, called Gethsemane or Old 
 Presses. 
 
 Within this enclosure many poor people having no 
 better resource had erected rude shelters or lay upon 
 the ground under the open sky. The night was far 
 advanced. Deep sleep had fallen upon them. But 
 as Malchus and his armed helpers rushed in, seized and 
 dragged roughly forward first one then another, and 
 flashed the lights into their faces, a confused uproar 
 
 Voices made shriller by fear cried out. Dismayed 
 figures in Galilean garments started up from the shad- 
 owy ground on all sides. The flicker of naked steel 
 threw panic into the hearts of these humble labouring 
 people, unaccustomed to warlike weapons. They would 
 have scattered like chickens before the midnight in- 
 vaders, but the enclosed place forbade. They were 
 dragged and pushed together in a herd, while the women 
 shrieked and terrified children screamed.
 
 272 
 
 " Not that one ! Not that one ! " cried Malchus, run- 
 ning and raging among them, poking his lantern into 
 each frightened face. 
 
 A figure stepped forth into the ruddy blaze of the 
 torches. 
 
 " Whom seek ye ? " he asked. 
 
 ** Jesus of Nazareth ! " a loud voice shouted. 
 
 " I am he." 
 
 It was the carpenter. He was haggard and very 
 pale. But his large dark eyes were wide and shining, 
 and a singular calm seemed to dwell upon his face. 
 
 A kind of stupor struck his captors apparently at 
 this unexpected declaration. Meanwhile the scared 
 and unharmed Galileans seized the opportunity and be- 
 gan to escape. They went back out of the reach of the 
 torchlight, flung themselves flat on the ground, and 
 crawled away. He was left standing there almost alone. 
 
 "Whom seek ye? " he inquired again, perceiving the 
 general astonishment. 
 
 " Jesus of Nazareth ! " 
 
 " I have told you that I am he. If therefore ye seek 
 me, let these go their way." 
 
 He had given himself for his followers. 
 
 Malchus recovering from the stupefaction laid hands 
 upon the carpenter and called to bring cords and bind 
 him. 
 
 But even amongst those unwarlike labourers was one 
 that could not thus desert his kuriop. Simon Barjona 
 rushed at Malchus with a loud shout and sword up- 
 raised. He hewed a tremendous but awkward blow at 
 him which smote off his ear.
 
 THE PASSOVER 273 
 
 The Highpriest's servant staggered back half a dozen 
 paces, reeling and crying out, while the blood gushed 
 over his cheek and neck. But as the stout fisherman 
 would have followed up this stroke, Jesus himself 
 stopped him. 
 
 " Put up thy sword into the sheath ! The cup which 
 my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? " 
 
 And Simon, thus rebuked by the very one he sought 
 to rescue, paused and lowered his weapon, bewildered. 
 
 He beheld the throng of optimates rushing with 
 sharp, bright sword-points to slay him. His heart failed 
 him, and he turned to flee. 
 
 It would have been too late. A Pharisee and a ser- 
 geant of the Temple were almost upon him. But a tall 
 man in grey Babylonian garb who also came running 
 in pursuit thrust out his foot as if by accident, colliding 
 with the other two, and they all stumbled and fell, and 
 Barjona escaped into the darkness. 
 
 Malchus although sorely wounded would allow no 
 delay. The optimates bound Jesus and hastened their 
 march back to the city. 
 
 The fear was upon them that the midnight uproar 
 at Gethsemane and the appeals of those who had es- 
 caped would arouse the multitude to run together and 
 rescue the Nazarene. 
 
 The prisoner was driven and prodded down the hill, 
 hedged closely about by half a hundred of the better 
 armed. Lurking, watchful forms were already to be 
 seen in the darkness around, dodging among the trees 
 and rocks. Despair made the followers of Jesus so bold 
 that one young man ventured close upon the heels of
 
 274 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 the column ; but when several laid hold of his linen gar- 
 ment, he slipped out of it and fled away naked. 
 
 As the carpenter, with his arms bound painfully be- 
 hind him, breasted the steep ascent towards the Sheep 
 Gate, he lifted his bowed head once and looked up at 
 the oppressive mass of the dark Temple looming above 
 him. He was silent. 
 
 Through the Sheep Gate, where entered all victims to 
 be slaughtered in the service of God, they drove him in. 
 
 A cold wind swept the black empty streets of Jeru- 
 salem. Only a few famished dogs were to be seen prowl- 
 ing among the refuse. A kind of fury of joy took 
 hold of some of the protectors of law and order as they 
 found themselves safe again within the city-walls. 
 They spat upon the presumptuous anarch who had so 
 nearly destroyed their sacred institutions. They as- 
 sailed him with curses and revilements. Several, too 
 hot with hate to restrain the impulse, struck at him with 
 fist or staff. 
 
 But still they hurried him on and brought him to the 
 house of Annas. 
 
 It had been decided by the leaders of the optimates to 
 dispose of the rebel according to established forms of 
 law, that the people might afterwards have no pretext 
 for complaint. In order that the greatest possible 
 odium might attach to his memory, the procedure 
 adopted was that prescribed against a mesith or se- 
 ducer from the faith. 22 
 
 A judicial ambush had been laid for him in the house 
 of Annas. He was led into a room where he appeared 
 to be alone with Annas, who questioned him in private
 
 THE PASSOVER 275 
 
 concerning his sayings. But two witnesses lay con- 
 cealed behind a partition. Two candles stood lighted 
 near him on the table, that it might be fully established 
 that the witnesses saw him. 
 
 From this ordeal the prisoner was led out very pale 
 but with closed lips. 
 
 He was then taken to the palace of Caiaphas hard by, 
 to stand trial before the hastily assembled Sanhedrim. 
 
 Late as was the hour, a crowd of humble folk who 
 had mysteriously collected from the slums and lower 
 quarters of the city, already lined the street. The 
 ruddy torch-flare lighted up their ill-developed faces, 
 woe-begone, horror-struck, despairing. Their rags 
 fluttering in the wind, they hovered about the well-fed 
 defenders of government and religion like unclean night- 
 birds. Their cries, shrill, plaintive, mingled with weep- 
 ing, resembled the hunger-cry of owls. Here and there 
 could be seen amongst them red Galilean garments. 
 
 But now too the triumphant Pharisees and optimates 
 were pouring by hundreds into the street. Emboldened 
 by this momentous capture of the arch-anarch in like 
 measure as his own adherents were disheartened by it, 
 they had come prepared to uphold the hands of the 
 authorities. 
 
 At the Highpriest's door, when the prisoner was led 
 in, the patriots drove back the rabble and allowed only 
 the better sort of citizens to enter. 
 
 In the high-roofed, stone-paved hall or atrium of 
 Caiaphas's spacious house, a charcoal brazier glowed 
 on an iron tripod. The guards, as they came in out 
 of the cold wind, crowded around the fire and stretched
 
 876 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 their palms over the grateful heat. They talked freely 
 with the privileged ones who had been admitted at the 
 door. They were all elated by the night's great ex- 
 ploit and full of mirth. 
 
 Meantime the prisoner had been taken into an inner 
 room before the Sanhedrim. Many spectators crowded 
 about the open doorway, so that it was with difficulty 
 that messengers of the court could go and come bringing 
 witnesses. At moments inside could be heard excited 
 voices, and the throng around the door were all on tiptoe, 
 while those at the fire stopped their talk and laughter 
 to listen, till the sounds diminished again. 
 
 A considerable time elapsed. 
 
 Presently a rough man with red hair and beard and 
 big brown fists, who had gained admission to the hall 
 somehow, came and elbowed his way to the brazier. 
 
 Several of those standing there looked sharply at 
 him. None seemed to know him. But he with assur- 
 ance spread out his coarse paws to the heat and looked 
 grimly upon the coals. At last a sergeant of the Tem- 
 ple pushed him a little, saying, 
 
 " Art not thou also one of his followers? " and pointed 
 his thumb over his shoulder towards the inner room. 
 
 " Man, I am not," growled the stranger. 
 
 They were not convinced, however, and continued to 
 look suspiciously at him. Then one, a kinsman of Mal- 
 chus, spoke up: 
 
 " Of a truth this fellow also was with him, for he 
 is a Galilean ! " 
 
 " Man, I know not what thou sayest ! " exclaimed 
 the stranger loudly, with a violent oath.
 
 THE PASSOVER 277 
 
 As he spoke, frowning, his face changed and he de- 
 parted. 
 
 In the court below sounded the shrill crowing of a 
 cock. 
 
 It was already schachar or the beginning of dawn. 
 A new day was creeping on the world. A grey light 
 was spreading through the windows and along the cold 
 stone walls, that dimmed the flicker of the candles.
 
 VIII 
 
 THE desperate peril of their property and priv- 
 ileges impelled the optimates to the boldest tac- 
 tics in order to obtain the intervention of the 
 Roman soldiers. 
 
 They had decided on a plan whereby they hoped to 
 force the hand of the Procurator, Pontius Pilate, and 
 compel him to assume jurisdiction of the criminal be- 
 fore the excitement of the multitude over the arrest of 
 Jesus precipitated the revolution. 
 
 To this end all that went before was only preliminary. 
 Nothing but the merest pretence of regularity was ob- 
 served at the trial before the Sanhedrim, because this 
 was not to be the real tribunal. It was conducted for 
 the sole purpose of delivering the prisoner with proper 
 formality into the hands of Pilate and there lodging a 
 charge of sedition against him. 
 
 Pilate's reluctance to intervene was already a matter 
 of common knowledge, as also his reasons. A federal 
 power is always slow to intervene in the purely local 
 quarrels of a subject state, and the Imperator Tiberius, 
 cautious, peace-loving, had shown marked disfavour for 
 meddlesome provincial governors. Moreover the po- 
 litical wiles of Annas had several times embroiled Pilate 
 with his master at Rome, notably in the affair of the 
 aqueduct and of Caesar's effigies. There was bad blood 
 
 between the Procurator and the local authorities. 
 
 278
 
 THE PASSOVER 279 
 
 But the optimates believed they had a means of bring- 
 ing about the desired intervention in spite of Pilate's 
 reluctance. 
 
 They haled their captive through the streets to the 
 Pretorium. A great crowd of their own adherents dom- 
 inated all the ways and market-places. The conserva- 
 tive elements of Jerusalem, the representatives of 
 property and wealth, and their dependents, had rallied 
 in astonishing numbers. The opposition, scattered and 
 dismayed for the moment, dared not lift its head. 
 
 It was a little after sunrise when Jesus, prodded from 
 the rear, was driven up the steps of the marble pronaos 
 of Pilate's official residence, a former palace of Herod 
 adjoining the citadel of Antonia. 23 The morning was 
 the fourteenth of Nisan, Friday the day the pascal 
 lamb was to be eaten. 
 
 His accusers drove him up the steps into the hands 
 of a file of soldiers posted in the portico at the entrance 
 to the judgment hall. But they themselves remained 
 outside, being already purified for the Passover. They 
 must not defile themselves, those pious enemies of 
 immorality. 
 
 They swarmed against the base of the steps and 
 raised a shrill deafening clamour for justice. Their 
 intense figures surged about the vacant sella curulis or 
 magisterial chair, which stood on the raised pavement, 
 called the Gabbatha, in the open space before the Pre- 
 torium. All the environs were flooded with the aristo- 
 cratic mob in the loose, gaudy drapery of the East. 
 But among them might here and there be seen certain 
 darker-faced men attired as shepherds of Perea or car-
 
 280 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 avan guards, who worked their way quietly to the fore. 
 
 After delay, for he was already engaged in the trial 
 of Barabbas, came Pontius Pilate clothed in the toga 
 praetexta or purple-bordered robe of his office and at- 
 tended by six lictors who bore long-shafted axes bound 
 about with bundles of rods. 
 
 A well-made full man was Pilate, mature but in 
 the prime of life. His skin glowed fresh and clear from 
 the recent bath. His close-cropped, dark hair was just 
 beginning to be grizzled about the temples. Of the 
 stern martial features the shaven chin alone revealed 
 traces of weakness. 
 
 He advanced to the top of the wide marble steps with 
 the deliberate dignity of a Roman patrician, the repre- 
 sentative of that great empire which had enslaved the 
 world. 
 
 Looking down at the whirl of hot dark passionate 
 faces below, he inquired, 
 
 " What accusation bring ye against this man ? " 
 
 An indiscriminate storm of yells at first drowned out 
 all efforts at reply, but finally voices could be heard, 
 
 " If he were not a malefactor we would not have 
 delivered him unto you ! " 
 
 " Take ye him," said the Procurator, " and judge him 
 according to your law." 
 
 " It is not lawful," shouted some, " for us to put 
 any man to death ! " And others, " We found this 
 fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to give 
 tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a 
 king!" 
 
 Pilate, astute in politics, perceived that this noisy
 
 THE PASSOVER 281 
 
 demonstration was being directed by some crafty mind, 
 which he did not doubt was the mind of Annas. He 
 perceived clearly the purpose to force upon him the 
 odium and risk of this judicial murder and the obliga- 
 tion to suppress any public disorders arising in conse- 
 quence. 
 
 He was but newly arrived from Caesarea and as yet 
 largely uninformed concerning the revolutionary strug- 
 gle, beyond knowing that Jesus, a Nazarene carpenter, 
 was the head of a faction hostile to the local authorities. 
 But he himself as Procurator had been so constantly 
 harassed by the scheming statecraft of Annas that he 
 inclined to favour any one who might prove a thorn in 
 the flesh of the proud ambitious Pharisee. 
 
 This charge that Jesus forbade giving tribute to 
 Cassar and aspired to kingship could not be ignored. 
 Tiberius the emperor was insanely distrustful, keeping 
 in his pay hordes of spies or delatores, who reported 
 the least suspicious word or act of his subordinates. It 
 was not safe to appear careless. 
 
 A dubious light dwelt in the Roman's cold grey eyes 
 as he withdrew into the hall of judgment and summoned 
 the prisoner before him. 
 
 " Art thou the king of the Jews ? " 
 
 " Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell 
 it of me?" 
 
 The man knew how to defend his case. His spirit 
 was not broken by that fierce clamour outside for his 
 
 blood. 
 
 Pleased by the well-guarded answer, the Procurator 
 smiled. He looked more attentively at the thin, strong,
 
 282 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 gentle face and work-worn body. A feeling of wonder, 
 a touch of admiration, slightly incredulous, at variance 
 with all his preconceived ideas of the ignoble labouring 
 class, crept over him. 
 
 " Am I a Jew ! " he retorted, throwing an added scorn 
 into the exclamation just because of the secret sense 
 of respect which had taken him unawares. " Thine 
 own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee 
 unto me. What hast thou done ? " 
 
 And yet his tone was kindly. 
 
 Thus encouraged, the carpenter seeing that the Proc- 
 urator was not unfriendly to him answered to the 
 charge, 
 
 "My kingly power 24 is not from 25 this world. If 
 my kingly power were from this world, then would my 
 helpers fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. 
 But indeed my kingly power is not from here." 
 
 Pilate's astonishment at this strange answer showed 
 in his face. 
 
 " Art thou a king, then? " 
 
 " Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was 
 I born and for this cause came I into the world, 
 that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone 
 that is true heareth my voice." 
 
 Amused disdain curled the lip of the sceptical Ro- 
 man. He belonged to the great world-empire of might. 
 But he was now persuaded that this remarkable artisan 
 was only a harmless visionary, at worst a madman. 
 
 " What is truth ! " he muttered, turning on his heel. 
 
 He went out again to the steps and declared, 
 
 " I find no crime 26 in this man."
 
 THE PASSOVER 283 
 
 A protesting tumult of indignant cries assailed his 
 ears, 
 
 "He stirreth up the people, making public 
 speeches 27 throughout all Jewry, beginning from Gali- 
 lee to this place ! " 
 
 Whereupon Pilate, eager to wash his hands of the 
 whole matter, asked quickly if the man were a Galilean. 
 
 Learning that he was, the Procurator thought to 
 outwit Annas and escape from the troublesome dilemma 
 by sending the prisoner to the Galilean Tetrarch, who 
 with his household and attendants had come up to the 
 Feast and lay in the suburb of Bezetha hard by. 
 
 But the Tetrarch was no less wary than Pilate. 
 
 He knew that the people yet cursed him for the death 
 of John. And after all, the seditious activities of 
 Jesus had been committed as much within the borders 
 of Judea as within his own domain. So he declined to 
 assume jurisdiction of the prisoner and sent him back 
 to Pilate. 
 
 Then the Procurator tried another course. He knew 
 that Jesus was popular with the lower classes, and he 
 was not yet aware how thoroughly the lower classes had 
 been cowed and driven into hiding for the moment by the 
 capture of their leader. 
 
 He came out again, therefore, upon the portico, and 
 had all the prisoners awaiting judgment brought out 
 also from the hall. 
 
 There were four of them : Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus 
 Barabbas, and two common thieves. 
 
 " Ye have a custom," said he, addressing the crowd, 
 "that I should release unto you one at the Passover.
 
 284 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 Will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of 
 the Jews?" 
 
 Thus he denominated the Nazarene in derision, for 
 it was his part to make light of the matter, to show the 
 people that he regarded him as crackbrained. And in- 
 deed it was a ludicrous thing, this carpenter aspiring 
 to a royal crown. The officers, lictors, attendants, those 
 that grouped about the doorway, catching their master's 
 humour as in duty bound, cackled with obsequious 
 laughter. 
 
 The four prisoners awaited the verdict of the crowd. 
 
 On the right stood this man of the common life and 
 lifted his gentle, work-furrowed face to the morning. 
 His wide, dark eyes gazed afar off, as though he were 
 unconscious of those scowls of hate below. 
 
 At his side clanked in iron fetters that great robber 
 Barabbas, lifting undaunted his shaggy head and smil- 
 ing his ferocious smile. 
 
 Unnoticed, a little way beyond them, cowered the two 
 common thieves, whose attacks upon the property of 
 men had been but the petty filchings of mice, not com- 
 parable to the extraordinary designs of these other two. 
 
 There they stood, enemies all of the existing order. 
 The sun, above the roofs of Ophel, rained arrowy, golden 
 rays against the grey pillars of the portico and burned 
 with rich splendour upon the curtain of imperial purple 
 which hung gently swaying across the doorway behind. 
 
 A moment yet silence reigned. 
 
 Suddenly from out the crowd a voice, sharp, harsh, 
 peculiarly distinct, sent a cry shrilling in opposition to 
 the Procurator's expressed preference,
 
 THE PASSOVER 285 
 
 " Not this man but Barabbas ! " 
 
 It was in vain that Pilate cast severe looks here and 
 there. The crowd of optimates perceived their true 
 enemy. It was not the bloody-handed robber, but the 
 teacher of the kingdom of brotherhood. They joined 
 in one huge, screaming roar, 
 
 " Not this man, but Barabbas ! " 
 
 
 
 At the verdict so overwhelmingly expressed, a tall 
 young Babylonian who had stood amongst the foremost 
 of the crowd, at the very foot of the steps, turned with 
 starting eyeballs and horror-stricken visage, and fled 
 away. 
 
 He cleft a passage through the bawling mob, stag- 
 gered out of the press and down the street, and fell at 
 last, groaning, upon his knees against a wall. 
 
 It was he who had formerly been the Prince Hyr- 
 canus. 
 
 A rush of light had blinded him. 
 
 When the fierce clamour of a thousand throats ac- 
 claimed the blood-stained Barabbas, it had seemed to 
 Hyrcanus that the eyes of the doomed carpenter had 
 turned and sought him out amid the crowd at the foot 
 of the steps and had fixed a moment gravely and lovingly 
 upon him. 
 
 That look it seemed to absorb him in a boundless, 
 ocean-like depth of divine love, a love which sought 
 to drown within its bosom all the anguish of the world. 
 
 It had lifted despair from his heart like a burden 
 rolled away. It had freed him from the obligation to 
 shed blood.
 
 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 But more: in the sweetness and sorrow and courage 
 of those eyes, Hyrcanus had read his call to battle. 
 War was to be his lot thenceforth, war against the 
 rule of might and greed, of guile and fear, that op- 
 pressed the lowly of the world. 
 
 And out of this welter of events flashed also upon 
 him a confused insight into the meaning of that seeming 
 indecision, that timid delay of action, and the final 
 surrender at Gethsemane. 
 
 He saw now that Jesus had deliberately rejected the 
 weapons of force and fear. Against the sword this 
 lowly carpenter had brought forth the one weapon that 
 could win the world for the peaceful workers the 
 light of love and reason. It was the weapon of eternity. 
 After the destruction of the carpenter's body, this 
 weapon would still continue the war for the freedom of 
 mankind. 
 
 Unnerved and weak, Hyrcanus knelt against the wall, 
 groaning and beating his breast. 
 
 And while he knelt, there came quietly to him a slender 
 woman in a peasant garb, who knelt and slipped her 
 slim hand within his. 
 
 " Bernice ! " 
 
 " Hyrcanus ! " 
 
 They looked at one another and burst into a flood of 
 tears.
 
 IX 
 
 THE attempt of Pilate to release Jesus as a harm- 
 less madman had been overborne by savage cries 
 of " Crucify him ! Crucify him ! " And while 
 the Procurator still resisted the clamour of the mob, 
 that same clear, harsh voice of peculiar resonance, which 
 had started the shouts for Barabbas, came shrilling 
 again, 
 
 " If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend ! 
 Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against 
 Cffisar!" 
 
 It seemed to the Procurator that he discerned as the 
 origin of that voice an elusive figure in black which 
 slipped rapidly here and there and spoke into many 
 ears. 
 
 He turned pale. Many voices were now repeating 
 the cry. It was a direct threat, horribly ingenious ; for 
 although he writhed in spirit at the insolent audacity, 
 he dared not resent it. There was needed but a 
 slightly coloured account of these proceedings to the 
 emperor who, gangrened with suspicions, sat upon the 
 throne of the world, lending a greedy ear to his delar 
 tores, and Pilate himself was lost. 
 
 Coming out therefore, he seated himself in the ivory 
 magisterial chair under the open sky, as Roman law 
 required; and the grim farce of justice concluded. 
 
 287
 
 288 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 On the one side stood ranged all the leagued masters 
 of the land, and, back of them, the huge shadow of 
 Caesar looming across the sea. And he, Pilate, who sat 
 in judgment, what was he with all his pomp and cir- 
 cumstance of office, his jewelled insignia, his lictors and 
 spearsmen, what but a puppet to enact the will 
 of those masters ! Nay, the very law which they in- 
 voked was theirs! 
 
 On the other side this absurd apparition from the 
 carpenter's bench, this pitiful champion of the poor, 
 who had stepped forth to the ludicrously unequal com- 
 bat, challenging all masters in all lands ! 
 
 A gleam of truth at which he had scoffed before may 
 have touched the brooding mind of Pilate. He waved 
 his hand angrily at the hooting crowd. 
 
 "Behold your King!" 
 
 " Away with him ! " they bawled, thinking of their 
 property and privileges which this king had threatened. 
 " Away with him ! Crucify him ! " 
 
 Crucifixion was the Roman punishment reserved for 
 rebellious slaves who had lifted their hands against their 
 masters. 
 
 " Shall I crucify your King? " 
 
 " We have no King but Caesar ! " 
 
 The punishment was decreed. 
 
 They crowned him in mockery with thorns and flung 
 about his shoulders a piece of purple cloth. 
 
 Northward along the broad military way and out at 
 the Damascus Gate they led him to his death between 
 the common thieves. 
 
 The legionaries marched briskly to the clank of
 
 THE PASSOVER 289 
 
 armour, close-ranked about the condemned three that 
 bent under the weight of the heavy crosses. 
 
 And now venturing forth from their hiding places 
 at last, the poor, humble, and enslaved lined the way by 
 hundreds. They wept and stretched out unavailing 
 hands towards that dumb wretched figure of their King 
 that staggered by in its purple rag and blood-trickling 
 crown. 
 
 Near the ancient grotto of Jeremiah beside the north- 
 ern road, on a knoll which was the traditional Place of 
 Stoning, they set up the crosses. The cliff beneath 
 the knoll bears to this day a fantastic semblance of a 
 rotting skull the hollow eye-holes, a depression for 
 the nose, and something like twisted lips of decay. The 
 name of that place was Golgotha. 
 
 There they hung the champion of the lowly, between 
 the other thieves. They nailed to the wood those im- 
 pious hands which had dared to overthrow the money- 
 tables. 
 
 Pilate had caused a paper to be prepared in Hebrew, 
 Greek, and Latin, whereon, avenging himself against the 
 arrogant Jews who had forced him to do this deed for 
 them, he recorded his ghastly jest: 
 
 " JESTJS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS." 
 
 It was more than a jest; it was his justification 
 for this act to his master at Rome. 
 
 In vain the proud chief priests, quivering under the 
 insult which made a lowly labourer their king, besought 
 Pilate to change the wording of the legend. The paper 
 remained pinned upon the cross.
 
 290 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 Throughout the long day the humble folk wailed 
 around the foot of the hill, as near the cross as the 
 line of soldiers permitted. 
 
 Amongst those kneeling hundreds knelt one who, be- 
 neath the spectacle of this sublimity of self-sacrifice, 
 stripped from his own heart all greed of earthly 
 dominion, all thought of special privilege over his fel- 
 low men. 
 
 And beside him knelt a little woman, clinging fast 
 to him in the tossing crowd. 
 
 Night crept on. 
 
 It was finished. 
 
 Those two rose up together and walked away, hand 
 in hand. They walked away into the grey world of 
 work, to fill their humble place among the fellowship.
 
 IT was the ninth hour. At last the strange, dark 
 clouds which had overspread the earth were slowly 
 i fi 
 lifting. 
 
 On the Highpriest's palace-roof, in the Upper City, 
 stood Caiaphas, Annas, and also a third, who lurked 
 half hid in the shadow of a silken canopy. They gazed 
 steadily across the housetops to the north. 
 
 The three tall crosses on Golgotha loomed black 
 against the grey sky. The people could be seen swarm- 
 ing dark and thick like ants over the hill, where at 
 moments flickered a Roman helmet. 
 
 Caiaphas exclaimed, 
 
 " Still that vast concourse of the populace ! Hours 
 have gone by, and still we behold them gathering about 
 the spot!" 
 
 " The Sabbath is at hand," said Annas gently. 
 " God's holy day draweth near. It will give pause to all 
 this foolish heat and passion." 
 
 " This Roman intervention hath struck terror to their 
 souls, but they growl they growl ! " 
 
 " Ere the morrow's sun set, we shall see an end of 
 these public disorders, I trust." 
 
 " But they growl openly at us and their growling 
 hath somehow a changed sound of hate in it, methinks. 
 A voice crieth in my heart, * Beware ! ' Oh, I would 
 that some hundred of the man's chief helpers were hunted 
 
 291
 
 292 THE KING WHO CAME 
 
 down straightway now while the terror of his death 
 is yet upon them ! " 
 
 " Too precipitate ever art thou. A needless show of 
 force, my son, is like a flare of straw, not strength but 
 weakness." 
 
 Caiaphas paced restlessly to and fro on the spacious 
 housetop, muttering and biting his nails. His aimless 
 promenade brought him at last to the corner of the 
 parapet, where he stopped and leaned forth to gaze 
 more intently at the distant cross. 
 
 Unawares his attitude exposed him to the view of 
 the people below in the street. A loud hissing and 
 groaning suddenly ascended. 
 
 He drew back. His plump cheeks went red and white 
 with shame and wrath. 
 
 " Lo, thou ! They mutter already against me in the 
 streets! We are become a by-word and a hissing! 
 Oh, that hydra hath left many heads ! But we, by act- 
 ing now, ere those heads grow to power . . ." 
 
 " Not heads," sighed Annas, " but thoughts must be 
 struck off. And thoughts which have once taken root 
 in the common life are never wholly quenched by blood." 
 
 " Shall we then not stamp out the remnants of this 
 innovation ! " 
 
 " Nay, my son, it is a stupendous task." Annas 
 stroked his beard pensively. The milk-white strands 
 flowed through his combing fingers like a waterfall. He 
 looked at that distant cross against the sky and the dark 
 multitude seething below it. " I know not," he mut- 
 tered. 
 
 A quiet voice spoke out of the shadow :
 
 THE PASSOVER 293 
 
 " Fear not, Annas. Thy task is ended." 
 
 " What meanest thou, Master? " inquired Annas 
 softly without turning. 
 
 " These other heads hold but a feeble glimmer of 
 that light thou hast put out yonder. By that glimmer 
 they will delude all men. This new kingdom which but 
 now frighted us wellnigh to madness this new king- 
 dom which was proclaimed to the poor, will be trans- 
 ferred whither, thinkest thou? ... To the grave! 
 . . . Ay, out of this revolt itself will gradually be con- 
 structed a theology of abjection for the poor. They 
 will be taught to submit, to bear their burdens, and 
 endure their wrongs with patience, in the belief that 
 death will readjust the inequitable things of life ! " 
 
 From the shadow sounded a titter of low laughter.
 
 NOTES 
 
 1." The Ancient Lowly/' by C. Osborne Ward. 
 
 2. " The Ancient Lowly/' by C. Osborne Ward. 
 
 8- Matt, v, 5. oi -imaxol TW Trvev/xan. Literally, "de- 
 prived of breath/' i. e., exhausted. Why should 
 the translators change this to " poor in spirit "? 
 
 4 Matt, v, 5. oi Tr/jaeis. From ?rpavs, tame, subdued, 
 low (applied to sounds) suppressed. Why should 
 the translators use the word " meek " ? It seems 
 rather to indicate the down-trodden, the oppressed, 
 or subjugated class. 
 
 5. Matt, v, 6. Tf\v SucaHxrvw/v. Everywhere in Xenophon 
 and other Greek writers, outside the Bible, the word 
 oWioo-w>7 is necessarily translated, " justice." Why 
 should the translators of the Bible change it to 
 "righteousness/' which approximates holiness? 
 
 6. Matt, v, 8. oi KaOapol TTJ Kap8ia. Literally, " pruned 
 as to the heart." From nadaipw, to clear by prun- 
 ing. Obviously it means those whose hearts have 
 been cleansed of old dead ideas and false opinions. 
 Perhaps " progressive " would be the right word. 
 
 7. Matt, v, 9. oi et/^voTToioi. Literally, " peace-me- 
 chanics." From elpyvt], peace, and Troie'w, to work, 
 labour, make. Matthew uses the verb iroUta in xx, 12, 
 to mean the labour performed by hired hands in the 
 vineyard. The " peace " is used apparently to dis- 
 tinguish from those whose employment is war. 
 
 8. Matt, v, 10. oi BfSuayfuvoi evcxev 8uccuoow7. Liter- 
 ally, "those malignantly pursued as regards jus- 
 tice." 
 
 295
 
 296 NOTES 
 
 9. Matt, v, 20. ctcreA^re. From etcre'/j^o/wtt, to break 
 into, rush into, come into by force. 
 
 10. Luke xviii, 24. SucncoAws. From Sus, an inseparable 
 particle denoting what is ill, difficult, grievous ; and 
 KoAov, food. Hence: "squeamishly, peevishly, re- 
 luctantly." 
 
 11. Luke iv, 18. cuxftaAwToi. From alxfj-r), spear-point; 
 and dA.o>Tos, taken. Hence: "taken by the spear, 
 captives." The Roman world-conquest was just 
 completed, filling the markets with hordes of pris- 
 oners sold into slavery. The right word therefore 
 would seem to be, " slaves." 
 
 12. Luke xix, 13. irpayiuiTcvaaaOf.. "Be occupied with, 
 keep busy with." 
 
 13. John xii, 30. ^>wi^/. Literally, " sound, roaring, 
 rumbling." See Revelations iv, 5; viii, 5, where 
 the same word is used by John to indicate simply the 
 noise of thunder, not a " voice." 
 
 14. John xii, 31. Kpims. Literally, "crisis." 
 
 15. John xii, 31. apx a>v - Literally, "one who begins, 
 is foremost ; " hence : " chief or ruler, a person in- 
 vested with power and dignity, a person of rank 
 and influence." There is no authority in the use 
 of this word by Greek writers for confining it to 
 " prince." It would seem more properly to apply 
 to the ruling power or class, whatever guise that 
 power might take. 
 
 16. John xii, 32. v\f/w6w IK TTJS y???. Literally, "raised 
 from the soil." Hence : " elevated from a humble 
 station to a place of dignity or prosperity." See 
 Matt, xi, 23, where the verb is undoubtedly used 
 in this sense. Why translate it otherwise here?
 
 NOTES 297 
 
 Also see Matt, xiii, 5, where the noun is used simply 
 to mean " soil," not the whole earth. 
 
 Is not the simple meaning, that if Jesus pros- 
 pered in his attempt to set up the new kingdom, he 
 would not rise alone, but all men should share 
 equally with him in the gain? 
 
 17. Luke iv, 18. euayyeAiecr0ai TTTW^OI?. Literally, 
 " good news to those in poverty, to those destitute of 
 the necessaries of life." 
 
 18. Luke iv, 18. IdaaaOai Toi> orvreiyH^j&cvovs ryv Kapbiav. 
 Literally, " to heal or free from evils those rubbed- 
 together or depressed as to the heart." In Luke 
 ix, 39, the verb trwrpifiia is used in the sense of de- 
 priving of strength, debilitating. Hence: the 
 proper meaning would seem to be, to heal the dis- 
 couraged, restore their hopes and courage. 
 
 19. Matt, xxi, 32. cv 6S<5 8wccuoow>7. Literally, "in a 
 way leading to justice, in the cause of justice." 
 
 20. Mark xii, 14. ov ya/o/JAeVeis ets irpoaanrov dvfywirwv. 
 Literally, " thou lookest not on the face of men." 
 Hence, obviously, in such context, the meaning is, 
 that Jesus was not seeking the popular approval, 
 did not shape his opinions by what he thought 
 the public would applaud, was not a demagogue. 
 
 21. " There is a story of Judas Iscariot, that he was the 
 regular lamias of the earliest Christian brother- 
 hood and that he protested against the use of the 
 costly alabaster to anoint the feet of the Jcuriot 
 with well-known results; and his fate for fidelity 
 caused the formation of the society of Cainites. 
 The Cainites remained as an organisation for about 
 two centuries and were treated as heretics. Prac-
 
 298 NOTES 
 
 tical eranists, they believed that Judas was right." 
 The Ancient Lowly, by C. Osborne Ward, Vol. 
 II, page 135, footnote; Kerr's edition. 
 
 22. Kenan's Life of Jesus. 
 
 23. Philo, " Legatio ad Caium," Sec. 38. Josephus, 
 " Wars of the Jews," ii, xiv, 8. 
 
 24. John xviii, 36. fiaaiXtla, "kingdom, realm; kingly 
 power, authority, dominion, reign ; royal dignity, the 
 title and honor of king." W. Greenfield's Poly- 
 micrian Greek Lexicon to the New Testament. 
 
 The word seems to be used generally in the New 
 Testament, in a more personal or human sense than 
 is denoted by mere geographical division. 
 
 25. John xviii, 37. , " out of, out from," as a source 
 or cause. 
 
 26. Luke xxiii, 4. airiov. The word is derived from 
 atria, cause, motive, incitement; accusation, crime. 
 It should be translated " crime " rather than 
 " fault," because it carries with it the meaning of 
 a breach of law. 
 
 27. Luke xxiii, 5. StSaovcwv. The verb StSao-Ku is used 
 by ancient writers to mean not only " to teach, 
 instruct," but also " to speak in a public assembly." 
 
 28. Kenan's Life of Jesus.
 
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