{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44818/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44818","id":"gutenberg_44818","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44818","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Short Stories","Jesus Christ -- Fiction","Jesus Christ -- Juvenile fiction","Nobel Prizes in Literature","Short stories"],"text":"CHRIST LEGENDS\n\n                                   BY\n\n                             SELMA LAGERL\u00d6F\n\n                      Translated from the Swedish\n\n                                   BY\n\n                         VELMA SWANSTON HOWARD\n\n                      DECORATIONS BY BERTHA STUART\n\n                             [Illustration]\n\n                                NEW YORK\n\n                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY\n\n                                  1908\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n                            Copyright, 1908,\n\n                                   BY\n\n                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY\n\n                                -------\n\n                        Published October, 1908\n\n                      THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRESS\n                             RAHWAY, N. J.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n                                CONTENTS\n\n                    THE HOLY NIGHT                  1\n                    THE EMPEROR\u2019S VISION           13\n                    THE WISE MEN\u2019S WELL            25\n                    BETHLEHEM\u2019S CHILDREN           41\n                    THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT          73\n                    IN NAZARETH                    85\n                    IN THE TEMPLE                  95\n                    SAINT VERONICA\u2019S KERCHIEF     119\n                    ROBIN REDBREAST               191\n                    OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER      203\n                    THE SACRED FLAME              221\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: The Holy Night]\n\n                             THE HOLY NIGHT\n\n\nWhen I was five years old I had such a great sorrow! I hardly know if I\nhave had a greater since.\n\nIt was then my grandmother died. Up to that time, she used to sit every\nday on the corner sofa in her room, and tell stories.\n\nI remember that grandmother told story after story from morning till\nnight, and that we children sat beside her, quite still, and listened.\nIt was a glorious life! No other children had such happy times as we\ndid.\n\nIt isn\u2019t much that I recollect about my grandmother. I remember that she\nhad very beautiful snow-white hair, and stooped when she walked, and\nthat she always sat and knitted a stocking.\n\nAnd I even remember that when she had finished a story, she used to lay\nher hand on my head and say: \u201cAll this is as true, as true as that I see\nyou and you see me.\u201d\n\nI also remember that she could sing songs, but this she did not do every\nday. One of the songs was about a knight and a sea-troll, and had this\nrefrain: \u201cIt blows cold, cold weather at sea.\u201d\n\nThen I remember a little prayer she taught me, and a verse of a hymn.\n\nOf all the stories she told me, I have but a dim and imperfect\nrecollection. Only one of them do I remember so well that I should be\nable to repeat it. It is a little story about Jesus\u2019 birth.\n\nWell, this is nearly all that I can recall about my grandmother, except\nthe thing which I remember best; and that is, the great loneliness when\nshe was gone.\n\nI remember the morning when the corner sofa stood empty and when it was\nimpossible to understand how the days would ever come to an end. That I\nremember. That I shall never forget!\n\nAnd I recollect that we children were brought forward to kiss the hand\nof the dead and that we were afraid to do it. But then some one said to\nus that it would be the last time we could thank grandmother for all the\npleasure she had given us.\n\nAnd I remember how the stories and songs were driven from the homestead,\nshut up in a long black casket, and how they never came back again.\n\nI remember that something was gone from our lives. It seemed as if the\ndoor to a whole beautiful, enchanted world\u2014where before we had been\nfree to go in and out\u2014had been closed. And now there was no one who\nknew how to open that door.\n\nAnd I remember that, little by little, we children learned to play with\ndolls and toys, and to live like other children. And then it seemed as\nthough we no longer missed our grandmother, or remembered her.\n\nBut even to-day\u2014after forty years\u2014as I sit here and gather together\nthe legends about Christ, which I heard out there in the Orient, there\nawakes within me the little legend of Jesus\u2019 birth that my grandmother\nused to tell, and I feel impelled to tell it once again, and to let it\nalso be included in my collection.\n\nIt was a Christmas Day and all the folks had driven to church except\ngrandmother and I. I believe we were all alone in the house. We had not\nbeen permitted to go along, because one of us was too old and the other\nwas too young. And we were sad, both of us, because we had not been\ntaken to early mass to hear the singing and to see the Christmas\ncandles.\n\nBut as we sat there in our loneliness, grandmother began to tell a\nstory.\n\n\u201cThere was a man,\u201d said she, \u201cwho went out in the dark night to borrow\nlive coals to kindle a fire. He went from hut to hut and knocked. \u2018Dear\nfriends, help me!\u2019 said he. \u2018My wife has just given birth to a child,\nand I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut it was way in the night, and all the people were asleep. No one\nreplied.\n\n\u201cThe man walked and walked. At last he saw the gleam of a fire a long\nway off. Then he went in that direction, and saw that the fire was\nburning in the open. A lot of sheep were sleeping around the fire, and\nan old shepherd sat and watched over the flock.\n\n\u201cWhen the man who wanted to borrow fire came up to the sheep, he saw\nthat three big dogs lay asleep at the shepherd\u2019s feet. All three awoke\nwhen the man approached and opened their great jaws, as though they\nwanted to bark; but not a sound was heard. The man noticed that the hair\non their backs stood up and that their sharp, white teeth glistened in\nthe firelight. They dashed toward him. He felt that one of them bit at\nhis leg and one at his hand and that one clung to his throat. But their\njaws and teeth wouldn\u2019t obey them, and the man didn\u2019t suffer the least\nharm.\n\n\u201cNow the man wished to go farther, to get what he needed. But the sheep\nlay back to back and so close to one another that he couldn\u2019t pass them.\nThen the man stepped upon their backs and walked over them and up to the\nfire. And not one of the animals awoke or moved.\u201d\n\nThus far, grandmother had been allowed to narrate without interruption.\nBut at this point I couldn\u2019t help breaking in. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t they do it,\ngrandma?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cThat you shall hear in a moment,\u201d said grandmother\u2014and went on with\nher story.\n\n\u201cWhen the man had almost reached the fire, the shepherd looked up. He\nwas a surly old man, who was unfriendly and harsh toward human beings.\nAnd when he saw the strange man coming, he seized the long spiked staff,\nwhich he always held in his hand when he tended his flock, and threw it\nat him. The staff came right toward the man, but, before it reached him,\nit turned off to one side and whizzed past him, far out in the meadow.\u201d\n\nWhen grandmother had got this far, I interrupted her again. \u201cGrandma,\nwhy wouldn\u2019t the stick hurt the man?\u201d Grandmother did not bother about\nanswering me, but continued her story.\n\n\u201cNow the man came up to the shepherd and said to him: \u2018Good man, help\nme, and lend me a little fire! My wife has just given birth to a child,\nand I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe shepherd would rather have said no, but when he pondered that the\ndogs couldn\u2019t hurt the man, and the sheep had not run from him, and that\nthe staff had not wished to strike him, he was a little afraid, and\ndared not deny the man that which he asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018Take as much as you need!\u2019 he said to the man.\n\n\u201cBut then the fire was nearly burnt out. There were no logs or branches\nleft, only a big heap of live coals; and the stranger had neither spade\nnor shovel, wherein he could carry the red-hot coals.\n\n\u201cWhen the shepherd saw this, he said again: \u2018Take as much as you need!\u2019\nAnd he was glad that the man wouldn\u2019t be able to take away any coals.\n\n\u201cBut the man stooped and picked coals from the ashes with his bare\nhands, and laid them in his mantle. And he didn\u2019t burn his hands when he\ntouched them, nor did the coals scorch his mantle; but he carried them\naway as if they had been nuts or apples.\u201d\n\nBut here the story-teller was interrupted for the third time. \u201cGrandma,\nwhy wouldn\u2019t the coals burn the man?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat you shall hear,\u201d said grandmother, and went on:\n\n\u201cAnd when the shepherd, who was such a cruel and hard-hearted man, saw\nall this, he began to wonder to himself: \u2018What kind of a night is this,\nwhen the dogs do not bite, the sheep are not scared, the staff does not\nkill, or the fire scorch?\u2019 He called the stranger back, and said to him:\n\u2018What kind of a night is this? And how does it happen that all things\nshow you compassion?\u2019\n\n\u201cThen said the man: \u2018I cannot tell you if you yourself do not see it.\u2019\nAnd he wished to go his way, that he might soon make a fire and warm his\nwife and child.\n\n\u201cBut the shepherd did not wish to lose sight of the man before he had\nfound out what all this might portend. He got up and followed the man\ntill they came to the place where he lived.\n\n\u201cThen the shepherd saw that the man didn\u2019t have so much as a hut to\ndwell in, but that his wife and babe were lying in a mountain grotto,\nwhere there was nothing except the cold and naked stone walls.\n\n\u201cBut the shepherd thought that perhaps the poor innocent child might\nfreeze to death there in the grotto; and, although he was a hard man, he\nwas touched, and thought he would like to help it. And he loosened his\nknapsack from his shoulder, took from it a soft white sheepskin, gave it\nto the strange man, and said that he should let the child sleep on it.\n\n\u201cBut just as soon as he showed that he, too, could be merciful, his eyes\nwere opened, and he saw what he had not been able to see before and\nheard what he could not have heard before.\n\n\u201cHe saw that all around him stood a ring of little silver-winged angels,\nand each held a stringed instrument, and all sang in loud tones that\nto-night the Saviour was born who should redeem the world from its sins.\n\n\u201cThen he understood how all things were so happy this night that they\ndidn\u2019t want to do anything wrong.\n\n\u201cAnd it was not only around the shepherd that there were angels, but he\nsaw them everywhere. They sat inside the grotto, they sat outside on the\nmountain, and they flew under the heavens. They came marching in great\ncompanies, and, as they passed, they paused and cast a glance at the\nchild.\n\n\u201cThere were such jubilation and such gladness and songs and play! And\nall this he saw in the dark night, whereas before he could not have made\nout anything. He was so happy because his eyes had been opened that he\nfell upon his knees and thanked God.\u201d\n\nHere grandmother sighed and said: \u201cWhat that shepherd saw we might also\nsee, for the angels fly down from heaven every Christmas Eve, if we\ncould only see them.\u201d\n\nThen grandmother laid her hand on my head, and said: \u201cYou must remember\nthis, for it is as true, as true as that I see you and you see me. It is\nnot revealed by the light of lamps or candles, and it does not depend\nupon sun and moon; but that which is needful is, that we have such eyes\nas can see God\u2019s glory.\u201d\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: The Emperor\u2019s Vision]\n\n                          THE EMPEROR\u2019S VISION\n\n\nIt happened at the time when Augustus was Emperor in Rome and Herod was\nKing in Jerusalem.\n\nIt was then that a very great and holy night sank down over the earth.\nIt was the darkest night that any one had ever seen. One could have\nbelieved that the whole earth had fallen into a cellar-vault. It was\nimpossible to distinguish water from land, and one could not find one\u2019s\nway on the most familiar road. And it couldn\u2019t be otherwise, for not a\nray of light came from heaven. All the stars stayed at home in their own\nhouses, and the fair moon held her face averted.\n\nThe silence and the stillness were as profound as the darkness. The\nrivers stood still in their courses, the wind did not stir, and even the\naspen leaves had ceased to quiver. Had any one walked along the\nseashore, he would have found that the waves no longer dashed upon the\nsands; and had one wandered in the desert, the sand would not have\ncrunched under one\u2019s feet. Everything was as motionless as if turned to\nstone, so as not to disturb the holy night. The grass was afraid to\ngrow, the dew could not fall, and the flowers dared not exhale their\nperfume.\n\nOn this night the wild beasts did not seek their prey, the serpents did\nnot sting, and the dogs did not bark. And what was even more glorious,\ninanimate things would have been unwilling to disturb the night\u2019s\nsanctity, by lending themselves to an evil deed. No false key could have\npicked a lock, and no knife could possibly have drawn a drop of blood.\n\nIn Rome, during this very night, a small company of people came from the\nEmperor\u2019s palace at the Palatine and took the path across the Forum\nwhich led to the Capitol. During the day just ended the Senators had\nasked the Emperor if he had any objections to their erecting a temple to\nhim on Rome\u2019s sacred hill. But Augustus had not immediately given his\nconsent. He did not know if it would be agreeable to the gods that he\nshould own a temple next to theirs, and he had replied that first he\nwished to ascertain their will in the matter by offering a nocturnal\nsacrifice to his genius. It was he who, accompanied by a few trusted\nfriends, was on his way to perform this sacrifice.\n\nAugustus let them carry him in his litter, for he was old, and it was an\neffort for him to climb the long stairs leading to the Capitol. He\nhimself held the cage with the doves for the sacrifice. No priests or\nsoldiers or senators accompanied him, only his nearest friends.\nTorch-bearers walked in front of him in order to light the way in the\nnight darkness and behind him followed the slaves, who carried the\ntripod, the knives, the charcoal, the sacred fire, and all the other\nthings needed for the sacrifice.\n\nOn the way the Emperor chatted gaily with his faithful followers, and\ntherefore none of them noticed the infinite silence and stillness of the\nnight. Only when they had reached the highest point of the Capitol Hill\nand the vacant spot upon which they contemplated erecting the temple,\ndid it dawn upon them that something unusual was taking place.\n\nIt could not be a night like all others, for up on the very edge of the\ncliff they saw the most remarkable being! At first they thought it was\nan old, distorted olive-trunk; later they imagined that an ancient stone\nfigure from the temple of Jupiter had wandered out on the cliff. Finally\nit was apparent to them that it could be only the old sibyl.\n\nAnything so aged, so weather-beaten, and so giant-like in stature they\nhad never seen. This old woman was awe-inspiring! If the Emperor had not\nbeen present, they would all have fled to their homes.\n\n\u201cIt is she,\u201d they whispered to each other, \u201cwho has lived as many years\nas there are sand-grains on her native shores. Why has she come out from\nher cave just to-night? What does she foretell for the Emperor and the\nEmpire\u2014she, who writes her prophecies on the leaves of the trees and\nknows that the wind will carry the words of the oracle to the person for\nwhom they are intended?\u201d\n\nThey were so terrified that they would have dropped on their knees with\ntheir foreheads pressed against the earth, had the sibyl stirred. But\nshe sat as still as though she were lifeless. Crouching upon the\noutermost edge of the cliff, and shading her eyes with her hand, she\npeered out into the night. She sat there as if she had gone up on the\nhill that she might see more clearly something that was happening far\naway. _She_ could see things on a night like this!\n\nAt that moment the Emperor and all his retinue marked how profound the\ndarkness was. None of them could see a hand\u2019s breadth in front of him.\nAnd what stillness! What silence! Not even the Tiber\u2019s hollow murmur\ncould they hear. The air seemed to suffocate them, cold sweat broke out\non their foreheads, and their hands were numb and powerless. They feared\nthat some dreadful disaster was impending.\n\nBut no one cared to show that he was afraid, and everyone told the\nEmperor that this was a good omen. All Nature held its breath to greet a\nnew god.\n\nThey counseled Augustus to hurry with the sacrifice, and said that the\nold sibyl had evidently come out of her cave to greet his genius.\n\nBut the truth was that the old sibyl was so absorbed in a vision that\nshe did not even know that Augustus had come up to the Capitol. She was\ntransported in spirit to a far-distant land, where she imagined that she\nwas wandering over a great plain. In the darkness she stubbed her foot\ncontinually against something, which she believed to be grass-tufts. She\nstooped down and felt with her hand. No, it was not grass, but sheep.\nShe was walking between great sleeping flocks of sheep.\n\nThen she noticed the shepherds\u2019 fire. It burned in the middle of the\nfield, and she groped her way to it. The shepherds lay asleep by the\nfire, and beside them were the long, spiked staves with which they\ndefended their flocks from wild beasts. But the little animals with the\nglittering eyes and the bushy tails that stole up to the fire, were they\nnot jackals? And yet the shepherds did not fling their staves at them,\nthe dogs continued to sleep, the sheep did not flee, and the wild\nanimals lay down to rest beside the human beings.\n\nThis the sibyl saw, but she knew nothing of what was being enacted on\nthe hill back of her. She did not know that there they were raising an\naltar, lighting charcoal and strewing incense, and that the Emperor took\none of the doves from the cage to sacrifice it. But his hands were so\nbenumbed that he could not hold the bird. With one stroke of the wing,\nit freed itself and disappeared in the night darkness.\n\nWhen this happened, the courtiers glanced suspiciously at the old sibyl.\nThey believed that it was she who caused the misfortune.\n\nCould they know that all the while the sibyl thought herself standing\nbeside the shepherds\u2019 fire, and that she listened to a faint sound which\ncame trembling through the dead-still night? She heard it long before\nshe marked that it did not come from the earth, but from the sky. At\nlast she raised her head; then she saw light, shimmering forms glide\nforward in the darkness. They were little flocks of angels, who, singing\njoyously, and apparently searching, flew back and forth above the wide\nplain.\n\nWhile the sibyl was listening to the angel-song, the Emperor was making\npreparations for a new sacrifice. He washed his hands, cleansed the\naltar, and took up the other dove. And, although he exerted his full\nstrength to hold it fast, the dove\u2019s slippery body slid from his hand,\nand the bird swung itself up into the impenetrable night.\n\nThe Emperor was appalled! He fell upon his knees and prayed to his\ngenius. He implored him for strength to avert the disasters which this\nnight seemed to foreshadow.\n\nNor did the sibyl hear any of this either. She was listening with her\nwhole soul to the angel-song, which grew louder and louder. At last it\nbecame so powerful that it wakened the shepherds. They raised themselves\non their elbows and saw shining hosts of silver-white angels move in the\ndarkness in long, swaying lines, like migratory birds. Some held lutes\nand cymbals in their hands; others held zithers and harps, and their\nsong rang out as merry as child-laughter, and as care-free as the lark\u2019s\ntrill. When the shepherds heard this, they rose up to go to the mountain\ncity, where they lived, to tell of the miracle.\n\nThey groped their way forward on a narrow, winding path, and the sibyl\nfollowed them. Suddenly it grew light up there on the mountain: a big,\nclear star kindled right over it, and the city on the mountain summit\nglittered like silver in the starlight. All the fluttering angel throngs\nhastened thither, shouting for joy, and the shepherds hurried so that\nthey almost ran. When they reached the city, they found that the angels\nhad assembled over a low stable near the city gate. It was a wretched\nstructure, with a roof of straw and the naked cliff for a back wall.\nOver it hung the Star, and hither flocked more and more angels. Some\nseated themselves on the straw roof or alighted upon the steep\nmountain-wall back of the house; others, again, held themselves in the\nair on outspread wings, and hovered over it. High, high up, the air was\nilluminated by the shining wings.\n\nThe instant the Star kindled over the mountain city, all Nature awoke,\nand the men who stood upon Capitol Hill could not help seeing it. They\nfelt fresh, but caressing winds which traveled through space; delicious\nperfumes streamed up about them; trees swayed; the Tiber began to\nmurmur; the stars twinkled, and suddenly the moon stood out in the sky\nand lit up the world. And out of the clouds the two doves came circling\ndown and lighted upon the Emperor\u2019s shoulders.\n\nWhen this miracle happened, Augustus rose, proud and happy, but his\nfriends and his slaves fell on their knees.\n\n\u201cHail, C\u00e6sar!\u201d they cried. \u201cThy genius hath answered thee. Thou art the\ngod who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!\u201d\n\nAnd this cry of homage, which the men in their transport gave as a\ntribute to the Emperor, was so loud that the old sibyl heard it. It\nwaked her from her visions. She rose from her place on the edge of the\ncliff, and came down among the people. It was as if a dark cloud had\narisen from the abyss and rushed down the mountain height. She was\nterrifying in her extreme age! Coarse hair hung in matted tangles around\nher head, her joints were enlarged, and the dark skin, hard as the bark\nof a tree, covered her body with furrow upon furrow.\n\nPotent and awe-inspiring, she advanced toward the Emperor. With one hand\nshe clutched his wrist, with the other she pointed toward the distant\nEast.\n\n\u201cLook!\u201d she commanded, and the Emperor raised his eyes and saw. The\nvaulted heavens opened before his eyes, and his glance traveled to the\ndistant Orient. He saw a lowly stable behind a steep rock wall, and in\nthe open doorway a few shepherds kneeling. Within the stable he saw a\nyoung mother on her knees before a little child, who lay upon a bundle\nof straw on the floor.\n\nAnd the sibyl\u2019s big, knotty fingers pointed toward the poor babe. \u201cHail,\nC\u00e6sar!\u201d cried the sibyl, in a burst of scornful laughter. \u201cThere is the\ngod who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!\u201d\n\nThen Augustus shrank back from her, as from a maniac. But upon the sibyl\nfell the mighty spirit of prophecy. Her dim eyes began to burn, her\nhands were stretched toward heaven, her voice was so changed that it\nseemed not to be her own, but rang out with such resonance and power\nthat it could have been heard over the whole world. And she uttered\nwords which she appeared to be reading among the stars.\n\n\u201cUpon Capitol Hill shall the Redeemer of the world be\nworshiped,\u2014_Christ_\u2014but not frail mortals.\u201d\n\nWhen she had said this, she strode past the terror-stricken men, walked\nslowly down the mountain, and disappeared.\n\nBut, on the following day, Augustus strictly forbade the people to raise\nany temple to him on Capitol Hill. In place of it he built a sanctuary\nto the new-born God-Child, and called it Heaven\u2019s Altar\u2014_Ara C\u0153li_.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: The Wise Men\u2019s Well]\n\n                          THE WISE MEN\u2019S WELL\n\n\nIn old Judea the Drought crept, gaunt and hollow-eyed, between shrunken\nthistles and yellowed grass.\n\nIt was summertime. The sun beat down upon the backs of unshaded hills,\nand the slightest breath of wind tore up thick clouds of lime dust from\nthe grayish-white ground. The herds stood huddled together in the\nvalleys, by the dried-up streams.\n\nThe Drought walked about and viewed the water supplies. He wandered over\nto Solomon\u2019s Pools, and sighed as he saw that they still held a small\nquantity of water from their mountain sources. Then he journeyed down to\nthe famous David\u2019s Well, near Bethlehem, and found water even there.\nFinally, he tramped with shuffling gait toward the great highway which\nleads from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.\n\nWhen he had arrived about half-way, he saw the Wise Men\u2019s Well, where it\nstands close by the roadside. He saw at a glance that it was almost dry.\nHe seated himself on the curb, which consists of a single stone hollowed\nout, and looked into the well. The shining water-mirror, which usually\nwas seen very near the opening, had sunk deep down, and the dirt and\nslime at the bottom of the well made it muddy and impure.\n\nWhen the Well beheld the Drought\u2019s bronzed visage reflected in her\nclouded mirror, she shook with anguish.\n\n\u201cI wonder when you will be exhausted,\u201d said the Drought. \u201cSurely, you do\nnot expect to find any fresh water source, down there in the deep, to\ncome and give you new life; and as for rain\u2014God be praised! there can\nbe no question of that for the next two or three months.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may rest content,\u201d sighed the Well, \u201cfor nothing can help me now.\nIt would take no less than a well-spring from Paradise to save me!\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I will not forsake you until every drop has been drained,\u201d said\nthe Drought. He saw that the old Well was nearing its end, and now he\nwanted to have the pleasure of seeing it die out drop by drop.\n\nHe seated himself comfortably on the edge of the curb, and rejoiced as\nhe heard how the Well sighed down there in the deep. He also took a keen\ndelight in watching the thirsty wayfarers come up to the well-curb, let\ndown the bucket, and draw it up again, with only a few drops of muddy\nwater.\n\nThus the whole day passed; and when darkness descended, the Drought\nlooked again into the Well. A little water still shimmered down there.\n\u201cI\u2019ll stay here all night,\u201d cried he, \u201cso do not hurry yourself! When it\ngrows so light that I can look into you once more, I am certain that all\nwill be over with you.\u201d\n\nThe Drought curled himself up on the edge of the well-curb, while the\nhot night, which was even more cruel, and more full of torment than the\nday had been, descended over Judea. Dogs and jackals howled incessantly,\nand thirsty cows and asses answered them from their stuffy stalls.\n\nWhen the breeze stirred a little now and then, it brought with it no\nrelief, but was as hot and suffocating as a great sleeping monster\u2019s\npanting breath. The stars shone with the most resplendent brilliancy,\nand a little silvery new moon cast a pretty blue-green light over the\ngray hills. And in this light the Drought saw a great caravan come\nmarching toward the hill where the Wise Men\u2019s Well was situated.\n\nThe Drought sat and gazed at the long procession, and rejoiced again at\nthe thought of all the thirst which was coming to the well, and would\nnot find one drop of water with which to slake itself. There were so\nmany animals and drivers they could easily have emptied the Well, even\nif it had been quite full. Suddenly he began to think there was\nsomething unusual, something ghost-like, about this caravan which came\nmarching forward in the night. First, all the camels came within sight\non a hill, which loomed up, high and distinct, against the horizon; it\nwas as though they had stepped straight down from heaven. They also\nappeared to be larger than ordinary camels, and bore\u2014all too\nlightly\u2014the enormous burdens which weighted them.\n\nStill he could not understand anything but that they were absolutely\nreal, for to him they were just as plain as plain could be. He could\neven see that the three foremost animals were dromedaries, with gray,\nshiny skins; and that they were richly bridled and saddled, with fringed\ncoverings, and were ridden by handsome, noble-looking knights.\n\nThe whole procession stopped at the well. With three sharp jerks, the\ndromedaries lay down on the ground, and their riders dismounted. The\npack-camels remained standing, and as they assembled they seemed to form\na long line of necks and humps and peculiarly piled-up packs.\n\nImmediately, the riders came up to the Drought and greeted him by laying\ntheir hands upon their foreheads and breasts. He saw that they wore\ndazzling white robes and huge turbans, on the front of each of which\nthere was a clear, glittering star, which shone as if it had been taken\ndirect from the skies.\n\n\u201cWe come from a far-off land,\u201d said one of the strangers, \u201cand we bid\nthee tell us if this is in truth the Wise Men\u2019s Well?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is called so to-day,\u201d said the Drought, \u201cbut by to-morrow there will\nbe no well here. It shall die to-night.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can understand this, as I see thee here,\u201d said the man. \u201cBut is not\nthis one of the sacred wells, which never run dry? or whence hath it\nderived its name?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know it is sacred,\u201d said the Drought, \u201cbut what good will that do?\nThe three wise men are in Paradise.\u201d\n\nThe three travelers exchanged glances. \u201cDost thou really know the\nhistory of this ancient well?\u201d asked they.\n\n\u201cI know the history of all wells and fountains and brooks and rivers,\u201d\nsaid the Drought, with pride.\n\n\u201cThen grant us a pleasure, and tell us the story!\u201d begged the strangers;\nand they seated themselves around the old enemy to everything growing,\nand listened.\n\nThe Drought shook himself and crawled up on the well-curb, like a\nstory-teller upon his improvised throne, and began his tale.\n\n\u201cIn Gebas, in Media, a city which lies near the border of the\ndesert\u2014and, therefore, it has often been a free and well-beloved city\nto me,\u2014there lived, many, many years ago, three men who were famed for\ntheir wisdom.\n\n\u201cThey were also very poor, which was a most uncommon state of affairs;\nfor, in Gebas, knowledge was held in high esteem, and was well\nrecompensed. With these men, however, it could hardly have been\notherwise, for one of them was very old, one was afflicted with leprosy,\nand the third was a black, thick-lipped negro. People regarded the first\nas much too old to teach them anything; the second they avoided for fear\nof contagion; and the third they would not listen to, because they\nthought they knew that no wisdom had ever come from Ethiopia.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile, the three wise ones became united through their common\nmisery. They begged during the day at the same temple gate, and at night\nthey slept on the same roof. In this way they at least had an\nopportunity to while away the hours, by meditating upon all the\nwonderful things which they observed in Nature and in the human race.\n\n\u201cOne night, as they slept side by side on a roof, which was overgrown\nwith stupefying red poppies, the eldest among them awoke; and hardly had\nhe cast a glance around him, before he wakened the other two.\n\n\u201c\u2018Praised be our poverty, which compels us to sleep in the open!\u2019 he\nsaid to them. \u2018Awake! and raise your eyes to heaven!\u2019\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the Drought, in a somewhat milder tone, \u201cthis was a night\nwhich no one who witnessed it can ever forget! The skies were so bright\nthat the heavens, which usually resemble an arched vault, looked deep\nand transparent and full of waves, like a sea. The light surged\nbackwards and forwards and the stars swam in their varying depths: some\nin among the light-waves; others upon the surface.\n\n\u201cBut farthest away and highest up, the three men saw a faint shadow\nappear. This shadow traveled through space like a ball, and came nearer\nand nearer, and, as the ball approached, it began to brighten. But it\nbrightened as roses do\u2014may God let them all wither!\u2014when they burst\nfrom their buds. It grew bigger and bigger, the dark cover about it\nturned back by degrees, and light broke forth on its sides into four\ndistinct leaves. Finally, when it had descended to the nearest of the\nstars, it came to a standstill. Then the dark lobes curled themselves\nback and unfolded leaf upon leaf of beautiful, shimmering, rose-colored\nlight, until it was perfect, and shone like a star among stars.\n\n\u201cWhen the poor men beheld this, their wisdom told them that at this\nmoment a mighty king was born on earth: one, whose majesty and power\nshould rise higher than that of Cyrus or of Alexander; and they said to\none another: \u2018Let us go to the father and mother of the new-born babe\nand tell them what we have seen! Mayhap they will reward us with a purse\nof coin or a bracelet of gold.\u2019\n\n\u201cThey grasped their long traveling staves and went forth. They wandered\nthrough the city and out from the city gate; but there they felt\ndoubtful for a moment as they saw before them the great stretch of dry,\nsmooth desert, which human beings dread. Then they saw the new star cast\na narrow stream of light across the desert sand, and they wandered\nconfidently forward with the star as their guide.\n\n\u201cAll night long they tramped over the wide sand-plain, and throughout\nthe entire journey they talked about the young, new-born king, whom they\nshould find reposing in a cradle of gold, playing with precious stones.\nThey whiled away the hours by talking over how they should approach his\nfather, the king, and his mother, the queen, and tell them that the\nheavens augured for their son power and beauty and joy, greater than\nSolomon\u2019s. They prided themselves upon the fact that God had called\n_them_ to see the Star. They said to themselves that the parents of the\nnew-born babe would not reward them with less than twenty purses of\ngold; perhaps they would give them so much gold that they no longer need\nsuffer the pangs of poverty.\n\n\u201cI lay in wait on the desert like a lion,\u201d said the Drought, \u201cand\nintended to throw myself upon these wanderers with all the agonies of\nthirst, but they eluded me. All night the Star had led them, and on the\nmorrow, when the heavens brightened and all the other stars grew pale,\nit remained steady and illumined the desert, and then guided them to an\noasis where they found a spring and a ripe, fruit-bearing tree. There\nthey rested all that day. And toward night, as they saw the Star\u2019s rays\nborder the sands, they went on.\n\n\u201cFrom the human way of looking at things,\u201d continued the Drought, \u201cit\nwas a delightful journey. The Star led them in such a way that they did\nnot have to suffer either hunger or thirst. It led them past the sharp\nthistles, it avoided the thick, loose, flying sand; they escaped the\nburning sunshine and the hot desert storms. The three wise men said\nrepeatedly to one another: \u2018God is protecting us and blessing our\njourney. We are His messengers.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen, by degrees, they fell into my power,\u201d said the Drought. \u201cThese\nstar-wanderers\u2019 hearts became transformed into as dry a desert as the\none which they traveled through. They were filled with impotent pride\nand destructive greed.\n\n\u201c\u2018We are God\u2019s messengers!\u2019 repeated the three wise ones. \u2018The father of\nthe new-born king will not reward us too well, even if he gives us a\ncaravan laden with gold.\u2019\n\n\u201cBy and by, the Star led them over the far-famed River Jordan, and up\namong the hills of Judea. One night it stood still over the little city\nof Bethlehem, which lay upon a hill-top, and shone among the olive\ntrees.\n\n\u201cBut the three wise ones looked around for castles and fortified towers\nand walls, and all the other things that belong to a royal city; but of\nsuch they saw nothing. And what was still worse, the Star\u2019s light did\nnot even lead them into the city, but remained over a grotto near the\nwayside. There, the soft light stole in through the opening and revealed\nto the three wanderers a little Child, who was being lulled to sleep in\nits mother\u2019s arms.\n\n\u201cAlthough the three men saw how the Star\u2019s light encircled the Child\u2019s\nhead, like a crown, they remained standing outside the grotto. They did\nnot enter to prophesy honors and kingdoms for this little One. They\nturned away without betraying their presence. They fled from the Child,\nand wandered down the hill again.\n\n\u201c\u2018Have we come in search of beggars as poor as ourselves?\u2019 said they.\n\u2018Has God brought us hither that we might mock Him, and predict honors\nfor a shepherd\u2019s son? This Child will never attain any higher\ndistinction than to tend sheep here in the valleys.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe Drought chuckled to himself and nodded to his hearers, as much as to\nsay: \u201cAm I not right? There are things which are drier than the desert\nsands, but there is nothing more barren than the human heart.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe three wise ones had not wandered very far before they thought they\nhad gone astray and had not followed the Star rightly,\u201d continued the\nDrought. \u201cThey turned their gaze upward to find again the Star, and the\nright road; but then the Star which they had followed all the way from\nthe Orient had vanished from the heavens.\u201d\n\nThe three strangers made a quick movement, and their faces expressed\ndeep suffering.\n\n\u201cThat which now happened,\u201d continued the Drought, \u201cis in accord with the\nusual manner of mankind in judging of what is, perhaps, a blessing.\n\n\u201cTo be sure, when the three wise men no longer saw the Star, they\nunderstood at once that they had sinned against God.\n\n\u201cAnd it happened with them,\u201d continued the Drought furiously, \u201cjust as\nit happens with the ground in the autumn, when the heavy rains begin to\nfall. They shook with terror, as one shakes when it thunders and\nlightens; their whole being softened, and humility, like green grass,\nsprang up in their souls.\n\n\u201cFor three nights and days they wandered about the country, in quest of\nthe Child whom they would worship; but the Star did not appear to them.\nThey grew more and more bewildered, and suffered the most overwhelming\nanguish and despair. On the third day they came to this well to drink.\nThen God had pardoned their sin. And, as they bent over the water, they\nsaw in its depths the reflection of the Star which had brought them from\nthe Orient. Instantly they saw it also in the heavens and it led them\nagain to the grotto in Bethlehem, where they fell upon their knees\nbefore the Child and said: \u2018We bring thee golden vessels filled with\nincense and costly spices. Thou shalt be the greatest king that ever\nlived upon earth, from its creation even unto its destruction.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen the Child laid his hand upon their lowered heads, and when they\nrose, lo! the Child had given them gifts greater than a king could have\ngranted; for the old beggar had grown young, the leper was made whole,\nand the negro was transformed into a beautiful white man. And it is said\nof them that they were glorious! and that they departed and became\nkings\u2014each in his own kingdom.\u201d\n\nThe Drought paused in his story, and the three strangers praised it.\n\u201cThou hast spoken well,\u201d said they. \u201cBut it surprises me,\u201d said one of\nthem, \u201cthat the three wise men do nothing for the well which showed them\nthe Star. Shall they entirely forget such a great blessing?\u201d\n\n\u201cShould not this well remain perpetually,\u201d said the second stranger, \u201cto\nremind mankind that happiness, which is lost on the heights of pride and\nvainglory, will let itself be found again in the depths of humility?\u201d\n\n\u201cAre the departed worse than the living?\u201d asked the third. \u201cDoes\ngratitude die with those who live in Paradise?\u201d\n\nBut as he heard this, the Drought sprang up with a wild cry. He had\nrecognized the strangers! He understood who the strangers were, and fled\nfrom them like a madman, that he might not witness how The Three Wise\nMen called their servants and led their camels, laden with water-sacks,\nto the Well and filled the poor dying Well with water, which they had\nbrought with them from Paradise.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: Bethlehem\u2019s Children]\n\n                          BETHLEHEM\u2019S CHILDREN\n\n\nJust outside the Bethlehem gate stood a Roman soldier, on guard. He was\narrayed in full armor, with helmet. At his side he wore a short sword,\nand held in his hand a long spear. He stood there all day almost\nmotionless, so that one could readily have believed him to be a man made\nof iron. The city people went in and out of the gate and beggars lolled\nin the shade under the archway, fruit venders and wine dealers set their\nbaskets and jugs down on the ground beside the soldier, but he scarcely\ntook the trouble to turn his head to look at them.\n\nIt seemed as though he wanted to say: This is nothing to see. What do I\ncare about you who labor and barter and come driving with oil casks and\nwine sacks! Let me see an army prepare to meet the enemy! Let me see the\nexcitement and the hot struggle, when horsemen charge down upon a troop\nof foot-soldiers! Let me see the brave men who rush forward to scale the\nwalls of a beleaguered city! Nothing is pleasing to my sight but war. I\nlong to see the Roman Eagles glisten in the air! I long for the\ntrumpets\u2019 blast, for shining weapons, for the splash of red blood!\n\nJust beyond the city gate lay a fine meadow, overgrown with lilies. Day\nby day the soldier stood with his eyes turned toward this meadow, but\nnever for a moment did he think of admiring the extraordinary beauty of\nthe flowers. Sometimes he noticed that the passers-by stopped to admire\nthe lilies, and it amazed him to think that people would delay their\ntravels to look at anything so trivial. These people do not know what is\nbeautiful, thought he.\n\nAnd as he thought thus, he saw no more the green fields and olive groves\nround about Bethlehem; but dreamed himself away in a burning-hot desert\nin sunny Libya. He saw a legion of soldiers march forward in a long,\nstraight line over the yellow, trackless sand. There was no protection\nagainst the sun\u2019s piercing rays, no cooling stream, no apparent\nboundaries to the desert, and no goal in sight, no end to their\nwanderings. He saw soldiers, exhausted by hunger and thirst, march\nforward with faltering step; he saw one after another drop to the\nground, overcome by the scorching heat. Nevertheless, they marched\nonward without a murmur, without a thought of deserting their leader and\nturning back.\n\nNow, _there_ is something beautiful! thought the soldier, something that\nis worth the glance of a valiant man!\n\nSince the soldier stood on guard at the same post day after day, he had\nthe best opportunity to watch the pretty children who played about him.\nBut it was with the children as with the flowers: he didn\u2019t understand\nthat it could be worth his while to notice them. What is this to rejoice\nover? thought he, when he saw people smile as they watched the\nchildren\u2019s games. It is strange that any one can find pleasure in a mere\nnothing.\n\nOne day when the soldier was standing at his accustomed post, he saw a\nlittle boy about three years old come out on the meadow to play. He was\na poor lad, who was dressed in a scanty sheepskin, and who played quite\nby himself. The soldier stood and regarded the newcomer almost without\nbeing aware of it himself. The first thing that attracted him was that\nthe little one ran so lightly over the field that he seemed scarcely to\ntouch the tips of the grass-blades. Later, as he followed the child\u2019s\nplay, he was even more astonished. \u201cBy my sword!\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cthis\nchild does not play like the others. What can it be that occupies him?\u201d\n\nAs the child played only a few paces away, he could see well enough what\nthe little one was doing. He saw how he reached out his hand to capture\na bee that sat upon the edge of a flower and was so heavily laden with\npollen that it could hardly lift its wings for flight. He saw, to his\ngreat surprise, that the bee let itself be taken without trying to\nescape, and without using its sting. When the little one held the bee\nsecure between his fingers, he ran over to a crack in the city wall,\nwhere a swarm of bees had their home, and set the bee down. As soon as\nhe had helped one bee in this way, he hastened back to help another. All\nday long the soldier saw him catch bees and carry them to their home.\n\n\u201cThat boy is certainly more foolish than any I\u2019ve seen hitherto,\u201d\nthought the soldier. \u201cWhat put it into his head to try and help these\nbees, who can take such good care of themselves without him, and who can\nsting him at that? What kind of a man will he become if he lives, I\nwonder?\u201d\n\nThe little one came back day after day and played in the meadow, and the\nsoldier couldn\u2019t help marveling at him and his games.\n\n\u201cIt is very strange,\u201d thought he. \u201cHere I have stood on guard for fully\nthree years, and thus far I have seen nothing that could interest me,\nexcept this infant.\u201d\n\nBut the soldier was in nowise pleased with the child; quite the reverse!\nFor this child reminded him of a dreadful prediction made by an old\nHebrew seer, who had prophesied that a time of peace should come to this\nworld some day; during a period of a thousand years no blood would be\nshed, no wars waged, but human beings would love one another like\nbrethren. When the soldier thought that anything so dreadful might\nreally come to pass, a shudder passed through his body, and he gripped\nhis spear hard, as if he sought support.\n\nAnd now, the more the soldier saw of the little one and his play, the\nmore he thought of the Thousand-year Reign of Peace. He did not fear\nthat it had come already, but he did not like to be reminded of anything\nso hateful!\n\nOne day, when the little one was playing among the flowers on the pretty\nmeadow, a very heavy shower came bursting through the clouds. When he\nnoticed how big and heavy the drops were that beat down upon the\nsensitive lilies, he seemed anxious for his pretty friends. He hurried\naway to the biggest and loveliest among them, and bent towards the\nground the stiff stalk which held up the lily, so that the raindrops\ncaught the chalices on their under side. As soon as he had treated one\nflower like this, he ran to another and bent its stem in the same way,\nso that the flower-cups were turned toward the ground. And then to a\nthird and a fourth, until all the flowers in the meadow were protected\nagainst the rainfall.\n\nThe soldier smiled to himself when he saw the boy\u2019s work. \u201cI\u2019m afraid\nthe lilies won\u2019t thank him for this,\u201d said he. \u201cNaturally, every stalk\nis broken. It will never do to bend such stiff growths in that way!\u201d\n\nBut when the shower was over, the soldier saw the little lad hurry over\nto the lilies and raise them up. To his utter astonishment, the boy\nstraightened the stiff stalks without the least difficulty. It was\napparent that not one of them was either broken or bruised. He ran from\nflower to flower, and soon all the rescued lilies shone in their full\nsplendor in the meadow.\n\nWhen the soldier saw this, he was seized with a singular rage. \u201cWhat a\nqueer child!\u201d thought he. \u201cIt is incredible that he can undertake\nanything so idiotic. What kind of a man will he make, who cannot even\nbear to see a lily destroyed? How would it turn out if such a one had to\ngo to war? What would he do if they ordered him to burn a house filled\nwith women and children, or to sink a ship with all souls on board?\u201d\n\nAgain he thought of the old prophecy, and he began to fear that the time\nhad actually come for its fulfilment. \u201cSince a child like this is here,\u201d\nthought he, \u201cperhaps this awful time is very close at hand. Already,\npeace prevails over the whole earth; and surely the day of war will\nnevermore dawn. From this time forth, all peoples will be of the same\nmind as this child: they will be afraid to injure one another, yea, they\nwill not have the heart even to crush a bee or a flower! No great deeds\nwill be done, no glorious battles won, and no brilliant triumvirate will\nmarch up to the Capitol. Nothing more will happen that a brave man could\nlong for.\u201d\n\nAnd the soldier\u2014who all the while hoped he would soon live through new\nwars and longed, through daring feats, to raise himself to power and\nriches\u2014felt so exasperated with the little three-year-old that he\nraised his spear threateningly the next time the child ran past.\n\nAnother day it was neither the bees nor the lilies the little one sought\nto protect, but he undertook something which struck the soldier as being\nmuch more needless and thankless.\n\nIt was a fearfully hot day, and the sunrays fell upon the soldier\u2019s\nhelmet and armor and heated them until he felt as if he wore a suit of\nfire. To the passers-by it looked as if he must suffer tortures from the\nheat. His bloodshot eyes were ready to burst from their sockets, and his\nlips were dry and shriveled. But as he was inured to the burning heat of\nAfrican deserts, he thought this a mere trifle, and it didn\u2019t occur to\nhim to move from his accustomed place. On the contrary, he took pleasure\nin showing the passers-by that he was so strong and hardy and did not\nneed to seek shelter from the sun.\n\nWhile he stood thus, and let himself be nearly broiled alive, the little\nboy who was wont to play in the meadow came suddenly up to him. He knew\nvery well that the soldier was not one of his friends and so he was\nalways careful not to come within reach of his spear; but now he ran up\nto him, and regarded him long and carefully; then he hurried as fast as\nhe could towards the road. When he came back, he held both hands like a\nbowl, and carried in this way a few drops of water.\n\n\u201cMayhap this infant has taken it upon himself to run and fetch water for\nme,\u201d thought the soldier. \u201cHe is certainly wanting in common sense.\nShould not a Roman soldier be able to stand a little heat! What need for\nthat youngster to run around and help those who require no help! I don\u2019t\nwant his compassion. I wish he and all like him were out of the world!\u201d\n\nThe little one came walking very slowly. He held his fingers close\ntogether, so that nothing should be spilled or wasted. All the while, as\nhe was nearing the soldier, he kept his eyes anxiously fixed upon the\nlittle water which he brought with him, and did not see that the man\nstood there frowning, with a forbidding look in his eye. Then the child\ncame up to the soldier and offered him the water.\n\nOn the way his heavy blond curls had tumbled down over his forehead and\neyes. He shook his head several times to get the hair out of his eyes,\nso that he could look up. When he succeeded at last, and became\nconscious of the hard expression on the soldier\u2019s face, he was not\nfrightened, but stood still and begged him, with a bewitching smile, to\ntaste of the water which he had brought with him. But the soldier felt\nno desire to accept a kindness from the child, whom he regarded as his\nenemy. He did not look down into his pretty face, but stood rigid and\nimmovable, and showed no sign that he understood what the child wished\nto do for him.\n\nNor could the child understand that the man wished to repel him. He\nsmiled all the while just as confidently, raised himself on the tips of\nhis toes, and stretched his hands as high as he could that the big\nsoldier might more easily get at the water.\n\nThe soldier felt so insulted because a mere child wished to help him\nthat he gripped his spear to drive the little one away.\n\nBut just at that moment the extreme heat and sunshine beat down upon the\nsoldier with such intensity that he saw red flames dance before his eyes\nand felt his brains melt within his head. He feared the sun would kill\nhim, if he could not find instant relief.\n\nBeside himself with terror at the danger hovering over him, the soldier\nthrew his spear on the ground, seized the child with both hands, lifted\nhim up, and absorbed as much as he could of the water which the little\none held in his hands.\n\nOnly a few drops touched his tongue, but more was not needed. As soon as\nhe had tasted of the water, a delicious coolness surged through his\nbody, and he felt no more that the helmet and armor burnt and oppressed\nhim. The sunrays had lost their deadly power. His dry lips became soft\nand moist again, and red flames no longer danced before his eyes.\n\nBefore he had time to realize all this, he had already put down the\nchild, who ran back to the meadow to play. Astonished, the soldier began\nto say to himself: \u201cWhat kind of water was this that the child gave me?\nIt was a glorious drink! I must really show him my gratitude.\u201d\n\nBut inasmuch as he hated the little one, he soon dismissed this idea.\n\u201cIt is only a child,\u201d thought he, \u201cand does not know why he acts in this\nway or that way. He plays only the play that pleases him best. Does he\nperhaps receive any gratitude from the bees or the lilies? On that\nyoungster\u2019s account I need give myself no trouble. He doesn\u2019t even know\nthat he has succored me.\u201d\n\nThe soldier felt, if possible, even more exasperated with the child a\nmoment later, when he saw the commander of the Roman soldiers, who were\nencamped in Bethlehem, come out through the gate. \u201cJust see what a risk\nI have run through that little one\u2019s rash behavior!\u201d thought he. \u201cIf by\nchance Voltigius had come a moment earlier, he would have seen me\nstanding with a child in my arms.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile, the Commander walked straight up to the soldier and asked him\nif they might speak together there without danger of being overheard. He\nhad a secret to impart to him. \u201cIf we move ten paces from the gate,\u201d\nreplied the soldier, \u201cno one can hear us.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know,\u201d said the Commander, \u201cthat King Herod, time and again, has\ntried to get possession of a child that is growing up here in Bethlehem.\nHis soothsayers and priests have told him that this child shall ascend\nhis throne. Moreover, they have predicted that the new King will\ninaugurate a thousand-year reign of peace and holiness. You understand,\nof course, that Herod would willingly make him\u2014Harmless!\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand!\u201d said the soldier eagerly. \u201cBut that ought to be the\neasiest thing in the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt would certainly be very easy,\u201d said the Commander, \u201cif the King only\nknew which one of all the children here in Bethlehem is The One.\u201d\n\nThe soldier knit his brows. \u201cIt is a pity his soothsayers can not\nenlighten him about this,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cBut now Herod has hit upon a ruse, whereby he believes he can make the\nyoung Peace-Prince harmless,\u201d continued the Commander. \u201cHe promises a\nhandsome gift to each and all who will help him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhatsoever Voltigius commands shall be carried out, even without money\nor gifts,\u201d said the soldier.\n\n\u201cI thank you,\u201d replied the Commander. \u201cListen, now, to the King\u2019s plan!\nHe intends to celebrate the birthday of his youngest son by arranging a\nfestival, to which all male children in Bethlehem, who are between the\nages of two and three years, shall be bidden, together with their\nmothers. And during this festival\u2014\u2014\u201d He checked himself suddenly, and\nlaughed when he saw the look of disgust on the soldier\u2019s face.\n\n\u201cMy friend,\u201d he continued, \u201cyou need not fear that Herod thinks of using\nus as child-nurses. Now bend your ear to my mouth, and I\u2019ll confide to\nyou his design.\u201d\n\nThe Commander whispered long with the soldier, and when he had disclosed\nall, he said:\n\n\u201cI need hardly tell you that absolute silence is imperative, lest the\nwhole undertaking miscarry.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know, Voltigius, that you can rely on me,\u201d said the soldier.\n\nWhen the Commander had gone and the soldier once more stood alone at his\npost, he looked around for the child. The little one played all the\nwhile among the flowers, and the soldier caught himself thinking that\nthe boy swayed above them as light and attractive as a butterfly.\n\nSuddenly he began to laugh. \u201cTrue,\u201d said he, \u201cI shall not have to vex\nmyself very long over this child. He shall be bidden to the feast of\nHerod this evening.\u201d\n\nHe remained at his post all that day, until the even was come, and it\nwas time to close the city gate for the night.\n\nWhen this was done, he wandered through narrow and dark streets, to a\nsplendid palace which Herod owned in Bethlehem.\n\nIn the center of this immense palace was a large stone-paved court\nencircled by buildings, around which ran three open galleries, one above\nthe other. The King had ordered that the festival for the Bethlehem\nchildren should be held on the uppermost of these galleries.\n\nThis gallery, by the King\u2019s express command, was transformed so that it\nlooked like a covered walk in a beautiful flower-garden. The ceiling was\nhidden by creeping vines hung with thick clusters of luscious grapes,\nand alongside the walls, and against the pillars stood small pomegranate\ntrees, laden with ripe fruit. The floors were strewn with rose-leaves,\nlying thick and soft like a carpet. And all along the balustrades, the\ncornices, the tables, and the low divans, ran garlands of lustrous white\nlilies.\n\nHere and there in this flower garden stood great marble basins where\nglittering gold and silver fish played in the transparent water.\nMulti-colored birds from distant lands sat in the trees, and in a cage\nsat an old raven that chattered incessantly.\n\nWhen the festival began children and mothers filed into the gallery.\nImmediately after they had entered the palace, the children were arrayed\nin white dresses with purple borders and were given wreaths of roses for\ntheir dark, curly heads. The women came in, regal, in their crimson and\nblue robes, and their white veils, which hung in long, loose folds from\nhigh-peaked head-dresses, adorned with gold coins and chains. Some\ncarried their children mounted upon their shoulders; others led their\nsons by the hand; some, again, whose children were afraid or shy, had\ntaken them up in their arms.\n\nThe women seated themselves on the floor of the gallery. As soon as they\nhad taken their places, slaves came in and placed before them low\ntables, which they spread with the choicest of foods and wines\u2014as\nbefitting a King\u2019s feast\u2014and all these happy mothers began to eat and\ndrink, maintaining all the while that proud, graceful dignity, which is\nthe greatest ornament of the Bethlehem women.\n\nAlong the farthest wall of the gallery, and almost hidden by\nflower-garlands and fruit trees, was stationed a double line of soldiers\nin full armor. They stood, perfectly immovable, as if they had no\nconcern with that which went on around them. The women could not refrain\nfrom casting a questioning glance, now and then, at this troop of\niron-clad men. \u201cFor what are they needed here?\u201d they whispered. \u201cDoes\nHerod think we women do not know how to conduct ourselves? Does he\nbelieve it is necessary for so many soldiers to guard us?\u201d\n\nBut others whispered that this was as it should be in a King\u2019s home.\nHerod himself never gave a banquet without having his house filled with\nsoldiers. It was to honor them that the heavily armored warriors stood\nthere on guard.\n\nDuring the first few moments of the feast, the children felt timid and\nuncertain, and sat quietly beside their mothers. But soon they began to\nmove about and take possession of all the good things which Herod\noffered them.\n\nIt was an enchanted land that the King had created for his little\nguests. When they wandered through the gallery, they found bee-hives\nwhose honey they could pillage without the interference of a single\ncrotchety bee. They found trees which, bending, lowered their\nfruit-laden branches down to them. In a corner they found magicians who,\non the instant, conjured their pockets full of toys; and in another\ncorner they discovered a wild-beast tamer who showed them a pair of\ntigers, so tame that they could ride them.\n\nBut in this paradise with all its joys there was nothing which so\nattracted the attention of these little ones as the long line of\nsoldiers who stood immovable at the extreme end of the gallery. Their\neyes were captivated by their shining helmets, their stern, haughty\nfaces, and their short swords, which reposed in richly jeweled sheaths.\n\nAll the while, as they played and romped with one another, they thought\ncontinually about the soldiers. They still held themselves at a\ndistance, but they longed to get near the men to see if they were alive\nand really could move themselves.\n\nThe play and festivities increased every moment, but the soldiers stood\nall the while immovable. It seemed incredible to the little ones that\npeople could stand so near the clusters of grapes and all the other\ndainties, without reaching out a hand to take them.\n\nFinally, there was one boy who couldn\u2019t restrain his curiosity any\nlonger. Slowly, but prepared for hasty retreat, he approached one of the\narmored men; and when he remained just as rigid and motionless, the\nchild came nearer and nearer. At last he was so close to him that he\ncould touch his shoe latchets and his shins.\n\nThen\u2014as though this had been an unheard-of crime\u2014all at once these\niron-men set themselves in motion. With indescribable fury they threw\nthemselves upon the children, and seized them! Some swung them over\ntheir heads, like missiles, and flung them between lamps and garlands\nover the balustrade and down to the court, where they were killed the\ninstant they struck the stone pavement. Others drew their swords and\npierced the children\u2019s hearts; others, again, crushed their heads\nagainst the walls before they threw them down into the dark courtyard.\n\nThe first moment after the onslaught, there was an ominous stillness.\nWhile the tiny bodies still swayed in the air, the women were petrified\nwith amazement! But simultaneously all these unhappy mothers awoke to\nunderstand what had happened, and with one great cry they rushed toward\nthe soldiers. There were still a few children left up in the gallery who\nhad not been captured during the first attack. The soldiers pursued them\nand their mothers threw themselves in front of them and clutched with\nbare hands the naked swords, to avert the death-blow. Several women,\nwhose children were already dead, threw themselves upon the soldiers,\nclutched them by the throat, and sought to avenge the death of their\nlittle ones by strangling their murderers.\n\nDuring this wild confusion, while fearful shrieks rang through the\npalace, and the most inhuman death cruelties were being enacted, the\nsoldier who was wont to stand on guard at the city gate stood motionless\nat the head of the stairs which led down from the gallery. He took no\npart in the strife and the murder: only against the women who had\nsucceeded in snatching their children and tried to fly down the stairs\nwith them did he lift his sword. And just the sight of him, where he\nstood, grim and inflexible, was so terrifying that the fleeing ones\nchose rather to cast themselves over the balustrade or turn back into\nthe heat of the struggle, than risk the danger of crowding past him.\n\n\u201cVoltigius certainly did the right thing when he gave _me_ this post,\u201d\nthought the soldier. \u201cA young and thoughtless warrior would have left\nhis place and rushed into the confusion. If I had let myself be tempted\naway from here, ten children at least would have escaped.\u201d\n\nWhile he was thinking of this, a young woman, who had snatched up her\nchild, came rushing towards him in hurried flight. None of the warriors\nwhom she had to pass could stop her, because they were in the midst of\nthe struggle with other women, and in this way she had reached the end\nof the gallery.\n\n\u201cAh, there\u2019s one who is about to escape!\u201d thought the soldier. \u201cNeither\nshe nor the child is wounded.\u201d\n\nThe woman came toward the soldier with such speed that she appeared to\nbe flying, and he didn\u2019t have time to distinguish the features of either\nthe woman or her child. He only pointed his sword at them, and the\nwoman, with the child in her arms, dashed against it. He expected that\nthe next second both she and the child would fall to the ground pierced\nthrough and through.\n\nBut just then the soldier heard an angry buzzing over his head, and the\nnext instant he felt a sharp pain in one eye. It was so intense that he\nwas stunned, bewildered, and the sword dropped from his hand. He raised\nhis hand to his eye and caught hold of a bee, and understood that that\nwhich caused this awful suffering was only the sting of the tiny\ncreature. Quick as a flash, he stooped down and picked up his sword, in\nthe hope that as yet it was not too late to intercept the runaways.\n\nBut the little bee had done its work very well.\n\nDuring the short time that the soldier was blinded, the young mother had\nsucceeded in rushing past him and down the stairs; and although he\nhurried after her with all haste, he could not find her. She had\nvanished; and in all that great palace there was no one who could\ndiscover any trace of her.\n\nThe following morning, the soldier, together with several of his\ncomrades, stood on guard, just within the city gate. The hour was early,\nand the city gates had only just been opened. But it appeared as though\nno one had expected that they would be opened that morning; for no\nthrongs of field laborers streamed out of the city, as they usually did\nof a morning. All the Bethlehem inhabitants were so filled with terror\nover the night\u2019s bloodshed that no one dared to leave his home.\n\n\u201cBy my sword!\u201d said the soldier, as he stood and stared down the narrow\nstreet which led toward the gate, \u201cI believe Voltigius has made a stupid\nblunder. It would have been better had he kept the gates closed and\nordered a thorough search of every house in the city, until he had found\nthe boy who managed to escape from the feast. Voltigius expects that his\nparents will try to get him away from here as soon as they learn that\nthe gates are open. I fear this is not a wise calculation. How easily\nthey could conceal a child!\u201d\n\nHe wondered if they would try to hide the child in a fruit basket or in\nsome huge oil cask, or amongst the grain-bales of a caravan.\n\nWhile he stood there on the watch for any attempt to deceive him in this\nway, he saw a man and a woman who came hurriedly down the street and\nwere nearing the gate. They walked rapidly and cast anxious looks behind\nthem, as though they were fleeing from some danger. The man held an ax\nin his hand with a firm grip, as if determined to fight should any one\nbar his way. But the soldier did not look at the man as much as he did\nat the woman. He thought that she was just as tall as the young mother\nwho got away from him the night before. He observed also that she had\nthrown her skirt over her head. \u201cPerhaps she wears it like this,\u201d\nthought he, \u201cto conceal the fact that she holds a child on her arm.\u201d\n\nThe nearer they approached, the plainer he saw the child which the woman\nbore on her arm outlined under the raised robe. \u201cI\u2019m positive it is the\none who got away last night. I didn\u2019t see her face, but I recognize the\ntall figure. And here she comes now, with the child on her arm, and\nwithout even trying to keep it concealed. I had not dared to hope for\nsuch a lucky chance,\u201d said the soldier to himself.\n\nThe man and woman continued their rapid pace all the way to the city\ngate. Evidently, they had not anticipated being intercepted here. They\ntrembled with fright when the soldier leveled his spear at them, and\nbarred their passage.\n\n\u201cWhy do you refuse to let us go out in the fields to our work?\u201d asked\nthe man.\n\n\u201cYou may go presently,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cbut first I must see what\nyour wife has hidden behind her robe.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is there to see?\u201d said the man. \u201cIt is only bread and wine, which\nwe must live upon to-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou speak the truth, perchance,\u201d said the soldier, \u201cbut if it is as you\nsay, why does she turn away? Why does she not willingly let me see what\nshe carries?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not wish that you shall see it,\u201d said the man, \u201cand I command you\nto let us pass!\u201d\n\nWith this he raised his ax, but the woman laid her hand on his arm.\n\n\u201cEnter thou not into strife!\u201d she pleaded. \u201cI will try some other way. I\nshall let him see what I bear, and I know that he can not harm it.\u201d With\na proud and confident smile she turned toward the soldier, and threw\nback a fold of her robe.\n\nInstantly the soldier staggered back and closed his eyes, as if dazed by\na strong light. That which the woman held concealed under her robe\nreflected such a dazzling white light that at first he did not know what\nhe saw.\n\n\u201cI thought you held a child on your arm,\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cYou see what I hold,\u201d the woman answered.\n\nThen the soldier finally saw that that which dazzled and shone was only\na cluster of white lilies, the same kind that grew in the meadow; but\ntheir luster was much richer and more radiant. He could hardly bear to\nlook at them.\n\nHe stuck his hand in among the flowers. He couldn\u2019t help thinking that\nit must be a child the woman carried, but he felt only the cool\nflower-petals.\n\nHe was bitterly deceived, and in his wrath he would gladly have taken\nboth the man and the woman prisoners, but he knew that he could give no\nreason for such a proceeding.\n\nWhen the woman saw his confusion, she said: \u201cWill you not let us go\nnow?\u201d\n\nThe soldier quietly lowered the spear and stepped aside.\n\nThe woman drew her robe over the flowers once more, and at the same time\nshe looked with a sweet smile upon that which she bore on her arm. \u201cI\nknew that you could not harm it, did you but see it,\u201d she said to the\nsoldier.\n\nWith this, they hastened away; and the soldier stood and stared after\nthem as long as they were within sight.\n\nWhile he followed them with his eyes, he almost felt sure that the woman\ndid not carry on her arm a cluster of lilies, but an actual, living\nchild.\n\nWhile he still stood and stared after the wanderers, he heard loud\nshouts from the street. It was Voltigius, with several of his men, who\ncame running.\n\n\u201cStop them!\u201d they cried. \u201cClose the gates on them! Don\u2019t let them\nescape!\u201d\n\nAnd when they came up to the soldier, they said that they had tracked\nthe runaway boy. They had sought him in his home, but then he had\nescaped again. They had seen his parents hasten away with him. The\nfather was a strong, gray-bearded man who carried an ax; the mother was\na tall woman who held a child concealed under a raised robe.\n\nThe same moment that Voltigius related this, there came a Bedouin riding\nin through the gate on a good horse. Without a word, the soldier rushed\nup to the rider, jerked him down off the horse and threw him to the\nground, and, with one bound, jumped into the saddle and dashed away\ntoward the road.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nTwo days later, the soldier rode forward through the dreary\nmountain-desert, which is the whole southern part of Judea. All the\nwhile he was pursuing the three fugitives from Bethlehem, and he was\nbeside himself because the fruitless hunt never came to an end.\n\n\u201cIt looks, forsooth, as though these creatures had the power to sink\ninto the earth,\u201d he grumbled. \u201cHow many times during these days have I\nnot been so close to them that I\u2019ve been on the point of throwing my\nspear at the child, and yet they have escaped me! I begin to think that\nI shall never catch up with them.\u201d\n\nHe felt despondent, like one who believes he is struggling against some\nsuperior power. He asked himself if it might not be possible that the\ngods protected these people against him.\n\n\u201cThis trouble is in vain. Let me turn back before I perish from hunger\nand thirst in this barren land!\u201d he said to himself, again and again.\nThen he was seized with fear of that which awaited him on his\nhome-coming, should he turn back without having accomplished his\nmission.\n\nTwice he had permitted the child to escape, and neither Voltigius nor\nHerod would pardon him for anything of the kind.\n\n\u201cAs long as Herod knows that one of the Bethlehem children still lives,\nhe will always be haunted by the same anxiety and dread,\u201d said the\nsoldier. \u201cMost likely he will try to ease his worries by nailing me to a\ncross.\u201d\n\nIt was a hot noonday hour, and he suffered tortures from the ride\nthrough this mountain district on a road which wound around steep cliffs\nwhere no breeze stirred. Both horse and rider were ready to drop.\n\nSeveral hours before he had lost every trace of the fugitives, and he\nfelt more disheartened than ever.\n\n\u201cI must give it up,\u201d thought he. \u201cI verily believe it is time wasted to\npursue them further. They must perish anyway in this awful wilderness.\u201d\n\nAs he thought this, he discovered, in a mountain-wall near the roadside,\nthe vaulted entrance to a grotto.\n\nImmediately he rode up to the opening. \u201cI will rest a while in this cool\nmountain cave,\u201d thought he. \u201cThen, mayhap, I can continue the pursuit\nwith renewed strength.\u201d\n\nAs he was about to enter, he was struck with amazement! On each side of\nthe opening grew a beautiful lily. The two stalks stood there tall and\nerect and full of blossoms. They sent forth an intoxicating odor of\nhoney, and many bees buzzed around them.\n\nIt was such an uncommon sight in this wilderness that the soldier did\nsomething extraordinary. He broke off a large white flower and took it\nwith him into the cave.\n\nThe cave was neither deep nor dark, and as soon as he entered he saw\nthat there were already three travelers within: a man, a woman, and a\nchild, who lay stretched out upon the ground, lost in deep slumber.\n\nThe soldier had never before felt his heart beat as it did at this\nvision. They were the three runaways whom he had hunted so long. He\nrecognized them instantly. And here they lay sleeping, unable to defend\nthemselves and wholly in his power.\n\nHe drew his sword quickly and bent over the sleeping child.\n\nCautiously he lowered the sword toward the infant\u2019s heart, and measured\ncarefully, in order to kill with a single thrust.\n\nHe paused an instant to look at the child\u2019s countenance. Now, when he\nwas certain of victory, he felt a grim pleasure in beholding his victim.\n\nBut when he saw the child his joy increased, for he recognized the\nlittle boy whom he had seen play with bees and lilies in the meadow\nbeyond the city gate.\n\n\u201cWhy, of course I should have understood this all the time!\u201d thought he.\n\u201cThis is why I have always hated the child. This is the pretended Prince\nof Peace.\u201d\n\nHe lowered his sword again while he thought: \u201cWhen I lay this child\u2019s\nhead at Herod\u2019s feet, he will make me Commander of his Life Guard.\u201d\n\nAs he brought the point of the sword nearer and nearer the heart of the\nsleeping child, he reveled in the thought: \u201cThis time, at least, no one\nshall come between us and snatch him from my power.\u201d\n\nBut the soldier still held in his hand the lily which he had broken off\nat the grotto entrance; and while he was thinking of his good fortune, a\nbee that had been hidden in its chalice flew towards him and buzzed\naround his head.\n\nHe staggered back. Suddenly he remembered the bees which the boy had\ncarried to their home, and he remembered that it was a bee that had\nhelped the child escape from Herod\u2019s feast. This thought struck him with\nsurprise. He held the sword suspended, and stood still and listened for\nthe bee.\n\nNow he did not hear the tiny creature\u2019s buzzing. As he stood there,\nperfectly still, he became conscious of the strong, delicious perfume\nwhich came from the lily that he held in his hand.\n\nThen he began to think of the lilies that the little one had saved; he\nremembered that it was a cluster of lilies that had hidden the child\nfrom his view and made possible the escape through the city gate.\n\nHe became more and more thoughtful, and he drew back the sword.\n\n\u201cThe bees and the lilies have requited his good deeds,\u201d he whispered to\nhimself. Then he was struck by the thought that the little one had once\nshown even him a kindness, and a deep crimson flush mounted to his brow.\n\n\u201cCan a Roman soldier forget to requite an accepted service?\u201d he\nwhispered.\n\nHe fought a short battle with himself. He thought of Herod, and of his\nown desire to destroy the young Peace-Prince.\n\n\u201cIt does not become me to murder this child who has saved my life,\u201d he\nsaid, at last.\n\nAnd he bent down and laid his sword beside the child, that the fugitives\non awakening should understand the danger they had escaped.\n\nThen he saw that the child was awake. He lay and regarded the soldier\nwith the beautiful eyes which shone like stars.\n\nAnd the warrior bent a knee before the child.\n\n\u201cLord, _thou_ art the Mighty One!\u201d said he. \u201cThou art the strong\nConqueror! Thou art He whom the gods love! Thou art He who shall tread\nupon adders and scorpions!\u201d\n\nHe kissed his feet and stole softly out from the grotto, while the\nlittle one smiled and smiled after him with great, astonished\nchild-eyes.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: The Flight Into Egypt]\n\n                         THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT\n\n\nFar away in one of the Eastern deserts many, many years ago grew a palm\ntree, which was both exceedingly old and exceedingly tall.\n\nAll who passed through the desert had to stop and gaze at it, for it was\nmuch larger than other palms; and they used to say of it, that some day\nit would certainly be taller than the obelisks and pyramids.\n\nWhere the huge palm tree stood in its solitude and looked out over the\ndesert, it saw something one day which made its mighty leaf-crown sway\nback and forth on its slender trunk with astonishment. Over by the\ndesert borders walked two human beings. They were still at the distance\nat which camels appear to be as tiny as moths; but they were certainly\ntwo human beings\u2014two who were strangers in the desert; for the palm\nknew the desert-folk. They were a man and a woman who had neither guide\nnor pack-camels; neither tent nor water-sack.\n\n\u201cVerily,\u201d said the palm to itself, \u201cthese two have come hither only to\nmeet certain death.\u201d\n\nThe palm cast a quick, apprehensive glance around.\n\n\u201cIt surprises me,\u201d it said, \u201cthat the lions are not already out to hunt\nthis prey, but I do not see a single one astir; nor do I see any of the\ndesert robbers, but they\u2019ll probably soon come.\u201d\n\n\u201cA seven-fold death awaits these travelers,\u201d thought the palm. \u201cThe\nlions will devour them, thirst will parch them, the sand-storm will bury\nthem, robbers will trap them, sunstroke will blight them, and fear will\ndestroy them.\u201d\n\nAnd the palm tried to think of something else. The fate of these people\nmade it sad at heart.\n\nBut on the whole desert plain, which lay spread out beneath the palm,\nthere was nothing which it had not known and looked upon these thousand\nyears. Nothing in particular could arrest its attention. Again it had to\nthink of the two wanderers.\n\n\u201cBy the drought and the storm!\u201d said the palm, calling upon Life\u2019s most\ndangerous enemies. \u201cWhat is that that the woman carries on her arm? I\nbelieve these fools also bring a little child with them!\u201d\n\nThe palm, who was far-sighted\u2014as the old usually are,\u2014actually saw\naright. The woman bore on her arm a child, that leaned against her\nshoulder and slept.\n\n\u201cThe child hasn\u2019t even sufficient clothing on,\u201d said the palm. \u201cI see\nthat the mother has tucked up her skirt and thrown it over the child.\nShe must have snatched him from his bed in great haste and rushed off\nwith him. I understand now: these people are runaways.\n\n\u201cBut they are fools, nevertheless,\u201d continued the palm. \u201cUnless an angel\nprotects them, they would have done better to have let their enemies do\ntheir worst, than to venture into this wilderness.\n\n\u201cI can imagine how the whole thing came about. The man stood at his\nwork; the child slept in his crib; the woman had gone out to fetch\nwater. When she was a few steps from the door, she saw enemies coming.\nShe rushed back to the house, snatched up her child, and fled.\n\n\u201cSince then, they have been fleeing for several days. It is very certain\nthat they have not rested a moment. Yes, everything has happened in this\nway, but still I say that unless an angel protects them\u2014\u2014\n\n\u201cThey are so frightened that, as yet, they feel neither fatigue nor\nsuffering. But I see their thirst by the strange gleam in their eyes.\nSurely I ought to know a thirsty person\u2019s face!\u201d\n\nAnd when the palm began to think of thirst, a shudder passed through its\ntall trunk, and the long leaves\u2019 numberless lobes rolled up, as though\nthey had been held over a fire.\n\n\u201cWere I a human being,\u201d it said, \u201cI should never venture into the\ndesert. He is pretty brave who dares come here without having roots that\nreach down to the never-dying water veins. Here it can be dangerous even\nfor palms; yea, even for a palm such as I.\n\n\u201cIf I could counsel them, I should beg them to turn back. Their enemies\ncould never be as cruel toward them as the desert. Perhaps they think it\nis easy to live in the desert! But I know that, now and then, even I\nhave found it hard to keep alive. I recollect one time in my youth when\na hurricane threw a whole mountain of sand over me. I came near choking.\nIf I could have died that would have been my last moment.\u201d\n\nThe palm continued to think aloud, as the aged and solitary habitually\ndo.\n\n\u201cI hear a wondrously beautiful melody rush through my leaves,\u201d it said.\n\u201cAll the lobes on my leaves are quivering. I know not what it is that\ntakes possession of me at the sight of these poor strangers. But this\nunfortunate woman is so beautiful! She carries me back, in memory, to\nthe most wonderful thing that I ever experienced.\u201d\n\nAnd while the leaves continued to move in a soft melody, the palm was\nreminded how once, very long ago, two illustrious personages had visited\nthe oasis. They were the Queen of Sheba and Solomon the Wise. The\nbeautiful Queen was to return to her own country; the King had\naccompanied her on the journey, and now they were going to part. \u201cIn\nremembrance of this hour,\u201d said the Queen then, \u201cI now plant a date seed\nin the earth, and I wish that from it shall spring a palm which shall\ngrow and live until a King shall arise in Judea, greater than Solomon.\u201d\nAnd when she had said this, she planted the seed in the earth and\nwatered it with her tears.\n\n\u201cHow does it happen that I am thinking of this just to-day?\u201d said the\npalm. \u201cCan this woman be so beautiful that she reminds me of the most\nglorious of queens, of her by whose word I have lived and flourished\nuntil this day?\n\n\u201cI hear my leaves rustle louder and louder,\u201d said the palm, \u201cand it\nsounds as melancholy as a dirge. It is as though they prophesied that\nsome one would soon leave this life. It is well to know that it does not\napply to me, since I can not die.\u201d\n\nThe palm assumed that the death-rustle in its leaves must apply to the\ntwo lone wanderers. It is certain that they too believed that their last\nhour was nearing. One saw it from their expression as they walked past\nthe skeleton of a camel which lay in their path. One saw it from the\nglances they cast back at a pair of passing vultures. It couldn\u2019t be\notherwise; they must perish!\n\nThey had caught sight of the palm and oasis and hastened thither to find\nwater. But when they arrived at last, they collapsed from despair, for\nthe well was dry. The woman, worn out, laid the child down and seated\nherself beside the well-curb, and wept. The man flung himself down\nbeside her and beat upon the dry earth with his fists. The palm heard\nhow they talked with each other about their inevitable death. It also\ngleaned from their conversation that King Herod had ordered the\nslaughter of all male children from two to three years old, because he\nfeared that the long-looked-for King of the Jews had been born.\n\n\u201cIt rustles louder and louder in my leaves,\u201d said the palm. \u201cThese poor\nfugitives will soon see their last moment.\u201d\n\nIt perceived also that they dreaded the desert. The man said it would\nhave been better if they had stayed at home and fought with the\nsoldiers, than to fly hither. He said that they would have met an easier\ndeath.\n\n\u201cGod will help us,\u201d said the woman.\n\n\u201cWe are alone among beasts of prey and serpents,\u201d said the man. \u201cWe have\nno food and no water. How should God be able to help us?\u201d In despair he\nrent his garments and pressed his face against the dry earth. He was\nhopeless\u2014like a man with a death-wound in his heart.\n\nThe woman sat erect, with her hands clasped over her knees. But the\nlooks she cast towards the desert spoke of a hopelessness beyond bounds.\n\nThe palm heard the melancholy rustle in its leaves growing louder and\nlouder. The woman must have heard it also, for she turned her gaze\nupward toward the palm-crown. And instantly she involuntarily raised her\narms.\n\n\u201cOh, dates, dates!\u201d she cried. There was such intense agony in her voice\nthat the old palm wished itself no taller than a broom and that the\ndates were as easy to reach as the buds on a brier bush. It probably\nknew that its crown was full of date clusters, but how should a human\nbeing reach such a height?\n\nThe man had already seen how beyond all reach the date clusters hung. He\ndid not even raise his head. He begged his wife not to long for the\nimpossible.\n\nBut the child, who had toddled about by himself and played with sticks\nand straws, had heard the mother\u2019s outcry.\n\nOf course the little one could not imagine that his mother should not\nget everything she wished for. The instant she said dates, he began to\nstare at the tree. He pondered and pondered how he should bring down the\ndates. His forehead was almost drawn into wrinkles under the golden\ncurls. At last a smile stole over his face. He had found the way. He\nwent up to the palm and stroked it with his little hand, and said, in a\nsweet, childish voice:\n\n\u201cPalm, bend thee! Palm, bend thee!\u201d\n\nBut what was that, what was that? The palm leaves rustled as if a\nhurricane had passed through them, and up and down the long trunk\ntraveled shudder upon shudder. And the tree felt that the little one was\nits superior. It could not resist him.\n\nAnd it bowed its long trunk before the child, as people bow before\nprinces. In a great bow it bent itself towards the ground, and finally\nit came down so far that the big crown with the trembling leaves swept\nthe desert sand.\n\nThe child appeared to be neither frightened nor surprised; with a joyous\ncry he loosened cluster after cluster from the old palm\u2019s crown. When he\nhad plucked enough dates, and the tree still lay on the ground, the\nchild came back again and caressed it and said, in the gentlest voice:\n\n\u201cPalm, raise thee! Palm, raise thee!\u201d\n\nSlowly and reverently the big tree raised itself on its slender trunk,\nwhile the leaves played like harps.\n\n\u201cNow I know for whom they are playing the death melody,\u201d said the palm\nto itself when it stood erect once more. \u201cIt is not for any of these\npeople.\u201d\n\nThe man and the woman sank upon their knees and thanked God.\n\n\u201cThou hast seen our agony and removed it. Thou art the Powerful One who\nbendest the palm-trunk like a reed. What enemy should we fear when Thy\nstrength protects us?\u201d\n\nThe next time a caravan passed through the desert, the travelers saw\nthat the great palm\u2019s leaf-crown had withered.\n\n\u201cHow can this be?\u201d said a traveler. \u201cThis palm was not to die before it\nhad seen a King greater than Solomon.\u201d\n\n\u201cMayhap it hath seen him,\u201d answered another of the desert travelers.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: In Nazareth]\n\n                              IN NAZARETH\n\n\nOnce, when Jesus was only five years old, he sat on the doorstep outside\nhis father\u2019s workshop, in Nazareth, and made clay cuckoos from a lump of\nclay which the potter across the way had given him. He was happier than\nusual. All the children in the quarter had told Jesus that the potter\nwas a disobliging man, who wouldn\u2019t let himself be coaxed, either by\nsoft glances or honeyed words, and he had never dared ask aught of him.\nBut, you see, he hardly knew how it had come about. He had only stood on\nhis doorstep and, with yearning eyes, looked upon the neighbor working\nat his molds, and then that neighbor had come over from his stall and\ngiven him so much clay that it would have been enough to finish a whole\nwine jug.\n\nOn the stoop of the next house sat Judas, his face covered with bruises\nand his clothes full of rents, which he had acquired during his\ncontinual fights with street urchins. For the moment he was quiet, he\nneither quarreled nor fought, but worked with a bit of clay, just as\nJesus did. But this clay he had not been able to procure for himself. He\nhardly dared venture within sight of the potter, who complained that he\nwas in the habit of throwing stones at his fragile wares, and would have\ndriven him away with a good beating. It was Jesus who had divided his\nportion with him.\n\nWhen the two children had finished their clay cuckoos, they stood the\nbirds up in a ring in front of them. These looked just as clay cuckoos\nhave always looked. They had big, round lumps to stand on in place of\nfeet, short tails, no necks, and almost imperceptible wings.\n\nBut, at all events, one saw at once a difference in the work of the\nlittle playmates. Judas\u2019 birds were so crooked that they tumbled over\ncontinually; and no matter how hard he worked with his clumsy little\nfingers, he couldn\u2019t get their bodies neat and well formed. Now and then\nhe glanced slyly at Jesus, to see how he managed to make his birds as\nsmooth and even as the oak-leaves in the forests on Mount Tabor.\n\nAs bird after bird was finished, Jesus became happier and happier. Each\nlooked more beautiful to him than the last, and he regarded them all\nwith pride and affection. They were to be his playmates, his little\nbrothers; they should sleep in his bed, keep him company, and sing to\nhim when his mother left him. Never before had he thought himself so\nrich; never again could he feel alone or forsaken.\n\nThe big brawny water-carrier came walking along, and right after him\ncame the huckster, who sat joggingly on his donkey between the large\nempty willow baskets. The water-carrier laid his hand on Jesus\u2019 curly\nhead and asked him about his birds; and Jesus told him that they had\nnames and that they could sing. All the little birds were come to him\nfrom foreign lands, and told him things which only he and they knew. And\nJesus spoke in such a way that both the water-carrier and the huckster\nforgot about their tasks for a full hour, to listen to him.\n\nBut when they wished to go farther, Jesus pointed to Judas. \u201cSee what\npretty birds Judas makes!\u201d he said.\n\nThen the huckster good-naturedly stopped his donkey and asked Judas if\nhis birds also had names and could sing. But Judas knew nothing of this.\nHe was stubbornly silent and did not raise his eyes from his work, and\nthe huckster angrily kicked one of his birds and rode on.\n\nIn this manner the afternoon passed, and the sun sank so far down that\nits beams could come in through the low city gate, which stood at the\nend of the street and was decorated with a Roman Eagle. This sunshine,\nwhich came at the close of the day, was perfectly rose-red\u2014as if it had\nbecome mixed with blood\u2014and it colored everything which came in its\npath, as it filtered through the narrow street. It painted the potter\u2019s\nvessels as well as the log which creaked under the woodman\u2019s saw, and\nthe white veil that covered Mary\u2019s face.\n\nBut the loveliest of all was the sun\u2019s reflection as it shone on the\nlittle water-puddles which had gathered in the big, uneven cracks in the\nstones that covered the street. Suddenly Jesus stuck his hand in the\npuddle nearest him. He had conceived the idea that he would paint his\ngray birds with the sparkling sunbeams which had given such pretty color\nto the water, the house-walls, and everything around him.\n\nThe sunshine took pleasure in letting itself be captured by him, like\npaint in a paint pot; and when Jesus spread it over the little clay\nbirds, it lay still and bedecked them from head to feet with a\ndiamond-like luster.\n\nJudas, who every now and then looked at Jesus to see if he made more and\nprettier birds than his, gave a shriek of delight when he saw how Jesus\npainted his clay cuckoos with the sunshine, which he caught from the\nwater pools. Judas also dipped his hand in the shining water and tried\nto catch the sunshine.\n\nBut the sunshine wouldn\u2019t be caught by him. It slipped through his\nfingers; and no matter how fast he tried to move his hands to get hold\nof it, it got away, and he couldn\u2019t procure a pinch of color for his\npoor birds.\n\n\u201cWait, Judas!\u201d said Jesus. \u201cI\u2019ll come and paint your birds.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, you shan\u2019t touch them!\u201d cried Judas. \u201cThey\u2019re good enough as they\nare.\u201d\n\nHe rose, his eyebrows contracted into an ugly frown, his lips\ncompressed. And he put his broad foot on the birds and transformed them,\none after another, into little flat pieces of clay.\n\nWhen all his birds were destroyed, he walked over to Jesus, who sat and\ncaressed his birds\u2014that glittered like jewels. Judas regarded them for\na moment in silence, then he raised his foot and crushed one of them.\n\nWhen Judas took his foot away and saw the entire little bird changed\ninto a cake of clay, he felt so relieved that he began to laugh, and\nraised his foot to crush another.\n\n\u201cJudas,\u201d said Jesus, \u201cwhat are you doing? Don\u2019t you see that they are\nalive and can sing?\u201d\n\nBut Judas laughed and crushed still another bird.\n\nJesus looked around for help. Judas was heavily built and Jesus had not\nthe strength to hold him back. He glanced around for his mother. She was\nnot far away, but before she could have gone there, Judas would have had\nample time to destroy the birds. The tears sprang to Jesus\u2019 eyes. Judas\nhad already crushed four of his birds. There were only three left.\n\nHe was annoyed with his birds, who stood so calmly and let themselves be\ntrampled upon without paying the slightest attention to the danger.\nJesus clapped his hands to awaken them; then he shouted: \u201cFly, fly!\u201d\n\nThen the three birds began to move their tiny wings, and, fluttering\nanxiously, they succeeded in swinging themselves up to the eaves of the\nhouse, where they were safe.\n\nBut when Judas saw that the birds took to their wings and flew at Jesus\u2019\ncommand, he began to weep. He tore his hair, as he had seen his elders\ndo when they were in great trouble, and he threw himself at Jesus\u2019 feet.\n\nJudas lay there and rolled in the dust before Jesus like a dog, and\nkissed his feet and begged that he would raise his foot and crush him,\nas he had done with the clay cuckoos. For Judas loved Jesus and admired\nand worshiped him, and at the same time hated him.\n\nMary, who sat all the while and watched the children\u2019s play, came up and\nlifted Judas in her arms and seated him on her lap, and caressed him.\n\n\u201cYou poor child!\u201d she said to him, \u201cyou do not know that you have\nattempted something which no mortal can accomplish. Don\u2019t engage in\nanything of this kind again, if you do not wish to become the unhappiest\nof mortals! What would happen to any one of us who undertook to compete\nwith one who paints with sunbeams and blows the breath of life into dead\nclay?\u201d\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: In the Temple]\n\n                             IN THE TEMPLE\n\n\nOnce there was a poor family\u2014a man, his wife, and their little son\u2014who\nwalked about in the big Temple at Jerusalem. The son was such a pretty\nchild! He had hair which fell in long, even curls, and eyes that shone\nlike stars.\n\nThe son had not been in the Temple since he was big enough to comprehend\nwhat he saw; and now his parents showed him all its glories. There were\nlong rows of pillars and gilded altars; there were holy men who sat and\ninstructed their pupils; there was the high priest with his breastplate\nof precious stones. There were the curtains from Babylon, interwoven\nwith gold roses; there were the great copper gates, which were so heavy\nthat it was hard work for thirty men to swing them back and forth on\ntheir hinges.\n\nBut the little boy, who was only twelve years old, did not care very\nmuch about seeing all this. His mother told him that that which she\nshowed him was the most marvelous in all the world. She told him that it\nwould probably be a long time before he should see anything like it\nagain. In the poor town of Nazareth, where they lived, there was nothing\nto be seen but gray streets.\n\nHer exhortations did not help matters much. The little boy looked as\nthough he would willingly have run away from the magnificent Temple, if\ninstead he could have got out and played on the narrow street in\nNazareth.\n\nBut it was singular that the more indifferent the boy appeared, the more\npleased and happy were the parents. They nodded to each other over his\nhead, and were thoroughly satisfied.\n\nAt last, the little one looked so tired and bored that the mother felt\nsorry for him. \u201cNow we have walked too far with you,\u201d said she. \u201cCome,\nyou shall rest a while.\u201d\n\nShe sat down beside a pillar and told him to lie down on the ground and\nrest his head on her knee. He did so, and fell asleep instantly.\n\nHe had barely closed his eyes when the wife said to the husband: \u201cI have\nnever feared anything so much as the moment when he should come here to\nJerusalem\u2019s Temple. I believed that when he saw this house of God, he\nwould wish to stay here forever.\u201d\n\n\u201cI, too, have been afraid of this journey,\u201d said the man. \u201cAt the time\nof his birth, many signs and wonders appeared which betokened that he\nwould become a great ruler. But what could royal honors bring him except\nworries and dangers? I have always said that it would be best, both for\nhim and for us, if he never became anything but a carpenter in\nNazareth.\u201d\n\n\u201cSince his fifth year,\u201d said the mother reflectively, \u201cno miracles have\nhappened around him. And he does not recall any of the wonders which\noccurred during his early childhood. Now he is exactly like a child\namong other children. God\u2019s will be done above all else! But I have\nalmost begun to hope that our Lord in His mercy will choose another for\nthe great destinies, and let me keep my son with me.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor my part,\u201d said the man, \u201cI am certain that if he learns nothing of\nthe signs and wonders which occurred during his first years, then all\nwill go well.\u201d\n\n\u201cI never speak with him about any of these marvels,\u201d said the wife. \u201cBut\nI fear all the while that, without my having aught to do with it,\nsomething will happen which will make him understand who he is. I feared\nmost of all to bring him to this Temple.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou may be glad that the danger is over now,\u201d said the man. \u201cWe shall\nsoon have him back home in Nazareth.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have feared the wise men in the Temple,\u201d said the woman. \u201cI have\ndreaded the soothsayers who sit here on their rugs. I believed that when\nhe should come to their notice, they would stand up and bow before the\nchild, and greet him as Judea\u2019s King. It is singular that they do not\nnotice his beauty. Such a child has never before come under their eyes.\u201d\nShe sat in silence a moment and regarded the child. \u201cI can hardly\nunderstand it,\u201d said she. \u201cI believed that when he should see these\njudges, who sit in the house of the Holy One and settle the people\u2019s\ndisputes, and these teachers who talk with their pupils, and these\npriests who serve the Lord, he would wake up and say: \u2018It is here, among\nthese judges, these teachers, these priests, that I am born to live.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat happiness would there be for him to sit shut in between these\npillar-aisles?\u201d interposed the man. \u201cIt is better for him to roam on the\nhills and mountains round about Nazareth.\u201d\n\nThe mother sighed a little. \u201cHe is so happy at home with us!\u201d said she.\n\u201cHow contented he seems when he can follow the shepherds on their lonely\nwanderings, or when he can go out in the fields and see the husbandmen\nlabor. I can not believe that we are treating him wrongly, when we seek\nto keep him for ourselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe only spare him the greatest suffering,\u201d said the man.\n\nThey continued talking together in this strain until the child awoke\nfrom his slumber.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the mother, \u201chave you had a good rest? Stand up now, for it\nis drawing on toward evening, and we must return to the camp.\u201d\n\nThey were in the most remote part of the building and so began the walk\ntowards the entrance.\n\nThey had to go through an old arch which had been there ever since the\ntime when the first Temple was erected on this spot; and near the arch,\npropped against a wall, stood an old copper trumpet, enormous in length\nand weight, almost like a pillar to raise to the mouth and play upon. It\nstood there dented and battered, full of dust and spiders\u2019 webs, inside\nand outside, and covered with an almost invisible tracing of ancient\nletters. Probably a thousand years had gone by since any one had tried\nto coax a tone out of it.\n\nBut when the little boy saw the huge trumpet, he stopped\u2014astonished!\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cThat is the great trumpet called the Voice of the Prince of this\nWorld,\u201d replied the mother. \u201cWith this, Moses called together the\nChildren of Israel, when they were scattered over the wilderness. Since\nhis time no one has been able to coax a single tone from it. But he who\ncan do this, shall gather all the peoples of earth under his dominion.\u201d\n\nShe smiled at this, which she believed to be an old myth; but the little\nboy remained standing beside the big trumpet until she called him. This\ntrumpet was the first thing he had seen in the Temple that he liked.\n\nThey had not gone far before they came to a big, wide Temple-court.\nHere, in the mountain-foundation itself, was a chasm, deep and\nwide\u2014just as it had been from time immemorial. This chasm King Solomon\nhad not wished to fill in when he built the Temple. No bridge had been\nlaid over it; no inclosure had he built around the steep abyss. But\ninstead, he had stretched across it a sword of steel, several feet long,\nsharpened, and with the blade up. And after ages and ages and many\nchanges, the sword still lay across the chasm. Now it had almost rusted\naway. It was no longer securely fastened at the ends, but trembled and\nrocked as soon as any one walked with heavy steps in the Temple Court.\n\nWhen the mother took the boy in a roundabout way past the chasm, he\nasked: \u201cWhat bridge is this?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was placed there by King Solomon,\u201d answered the mother, \u201cand we call\nit Paradise Bridge. If you can cross the chasm on this trembling bridge,\nwhose surface is thinner than a sunbeam, then you can be sure of getting\nto Paradise.\u201d\n\nShe smiled and moved away; but the boy stood still and looked at the\nnarrow, trembling steel blade until she called him.\n\nWhen he obeyed her, she sighed because she had not shown him these two\nremarkable things sooner, so that he might have had sufficient time to\nview them.\n\nNow they walked on without being detained, till they came to the great\nentrance portico with its columns, five-deep. Here, in a corner, were\ntwo black marble pillars erected on the same foundation, and so close to\neach other that hardly a straw could be squeezed in between them. They\nwere tall and majestic, with richly ornamented capitals around which ran\na row of peculiarly formed beasts\u2019 heads. And there was not an inch on\nthese beautiful pillars that did not bear marks and scratches. They were\nworn and damaged like nothing else in the Temple. Even the floor around\nthem was worn smooth, and was somewhat hollowed out from the wear of\nmany feet.\n\nOnce more the boy stopped his mother and asked: \u201cWhat pillars are\nthese?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are pillars which our father Abraham brought with him to Palestine\nfrom far-away Chaldea, and which he called Righteousness\u2019 Gate. He who\ncan squeeze between them is righteous before God and has never committed\na sin.\u201d\n\nThe boy stood still and regarded these pillars with great, open eyes.\n\n\u201cYou, surely, do not think of trying to squeeze yourself in between\nthem?\u201d laughed the mother. \u201cYou see how the floor around them is worn\naway by the many who have attempted to force their way through the\nnarrow space; but, believe me, no one has succeeded. Make haste! I hear\nthe clanging of the copper gates; the thirty Temple servants have put\ntheir shoulders to them.\u201d\n\nBut all night the little boy lay awake in the tent, and he saw before\nhim nothing but Righteousness\u2019 Gate and Paradise Bridge and the Voice of\nthe Prince of this World. Never before had he heard of such wonderful\nthings, and he couldn\u2019t get them out of his head.\n\nAnd on the morning of the next day it was the same thing: he couldn\u2019t\nthink of anything else. That morning they were to leave for home. The\nparents had much to do before they took the tent down and loaded it upon\na big camel, and before everything else was in order. They were not\ngoing to travel alone, but in company with many relatives and neighbors.\nAnd since there were so many, the packing naturally went on very slowly.\n\nThe little boy did not assist in the work, but in the midst of the hurry\nand confusion he sat still and thought about the three wonderful things.\n\nSuddenly he concluded that he would have time enough to go back to the\nTemple and take another look at them. There was still much to be packed\naway. He could probably manage to get back from the Temple before the\ndeparture.\n\nHe hastened away without telling any one where he was going to. He\ndidn\u2019t think it was necessary. He would soon return, of course.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t long before he reached the Temple and entered the portico\nwhere the two pillars stood.\n\nAs soon as he saw them, his eyes danced with joy. He sat down on the\nfloor beside them, and gazed up at them. As he thought that he who could\nsqueeze between these two pillars was accounted righteous before God and\nhad never committed sin, he fancied he had never seen anything so\nwonderful.\n\nHe thought how glorious it would be to be able to squeeze in between the\ntwo pillars, but they stood so close together that it was impossible\neven to try it. In this way, he sat motionless before the pillars for\nwell-nigh an hour; but this he did not know. He thought he had looked at\nthem only a few moments.\n\nBut it happened that, in the portico where the little boy sat, the\njudges of the high court were assembled to help folks settle their\ndifferences.\n\nThe whole portico was filled with people, who complained about boundary\nlines that had been moved, about sheep which had been carried away from\nthe flocks and branded with false marks, about debtors who wouldn\u2019t pay.\n\nAmong them came a rich man dressed in a trailing purple robe, who\nbrought before the court a poor widow who was supposed to owe him a few\nsilver shekels. The poor widow cried and said that the rich man dealt\nunjustly with her; she had already paid her debt to him once, and now he\ntried to force her to pay it again, but this she could not afford to do;\nshe was so poor that should the judges condemn her to pay, she must give\nher daughters to the rich man as slaves.\n\nThen he who sat in the place of honor on the judges\u2019 bench, turned to\nthe rich man and said: \u201cDo you dare to swear on oath that this poor\nwoman has not already paid you?\u201d\n\nThen the rich man answered: \u201cLord, I am a rich man. Would I take the\ntrouble to demand my money from this poor widow, if I did not have the\nright to it? I swear to you that as certain as that no one shall ever\nwalk through Righteousness\u2019 Gate does this woman owe me the sum which I\ndemand.\u201d\n\nWhen the judges heard this oath they believed him, and doomed the poor\nwidow to leave him her daughters as slaves.\n\nBut the little boy sat close by and heard all this. He thought to\nhimself: What a good thing it would be if some one could squeeze through\nRighteousness\u2019 Gate! That rich man certainly did not speak the truth. It\nis a great pity about the poor old woman, who will be compelled to send\nher daughters away to become slaves!\n\nHe jumped upon the platform where the two pillars towered into the\nheights, and looked through the crack.\n\n\u201cAh, that it were not altogether impossible!\u201d thought he.\n\nHe was deeply distressed because of the poor woman. Now he didn\u2019t think\nat all about the saying that he who could squeeze through Righteousness\u2019\nGate was holy, and without sin. He wanted to get through only for the\nsake of the poor woman.\n\nHe put his shoulder in the groove between the two pillars, as if to make\na way.\n\nThat instant all the people who stood under the portico, looked over\ntoward Righteousness\u2019 Gate. For it rumbled in the vaults, and it sang in\nthe old pillars, and they glided apart\u2014one to the right, and one to the\nleft\u2014and made a space wide enough for the boy\u2019s slender body to pass\nbetween them!\n\nThen there arose the greatest wonder and excitement! At first no one\nknew what to say. The people stood and stared at the little boy who had\nworked so great a miracle.\n\nThe oldest among the judges was the first one who came to his senses. He\ncalled out that they should lay hold on the rich merchant, and bring him\nbefore the judgment seat. And he sentenced him to leave all his goods to\nthe poor widow, because he had sworn falsely in God\u2019s Temple.\n\nWhen this was settled, the judge asked after the boy who had passed\nthrough Righteousness\u2019 Gate; but when the people looked around for him,\nhe had disappeared. For the very moment the pillars glided apart, he was\nawakened, as from a dream, and remembered the home-journey and his\nparents. \u201cNow I must hasten away from here, so that my parents will not\nhave to wait for me,\u201d thought he.\n\nHe knew not that he had sat a whole hour before Righteousness\u2019 Gate, but\nbelieved he had lingered there only a few minutes; therefore, he thought\nthat he would even have time to take a look at Paradise Bridge before he\nleft the Temple.\n\nAnd he slipped through the throng of people and came to Paradise Bridge,\nwhich was situated in another part of the big temple.\n\nBut when he saw the sharp steel sword which was drawn across the chasm,\nhe thought how the person who could walk across that bridge was sure of\nreaching Paradise. He believed that this was the most marvelous thing he\nhad ever beheld; and he seated himself on the edge of the chasm to look\nat the steel sword.\n\nThere he sat down and thought how delightful it would be to reach\nParadise, and how much he would like to walk across the bridge; but at\nthe same time he saw that it would be simply impossible even to attempt\nit.\n\nThus he sat and mused for two hours, but he did not know how the time\nhad flown. He sat there and thought only of Paradise.\n\nBut it seems that in the court where the deep chasm was, a large altar\nhad been erected, and all around it walked white-robed priests, who\ntended the altar fire and received sacrifices. In the court there were\nmany with offerings, and a big crowd who only watched the service.\n\nThen there came a poor old man who brought a lamb which was very small\nand thin, and which had been bitten by a dog and had a large wound.\n\nThe man went up to the priests with the lamb and begged that he might\noffer it, but they refused to accept it. They told him that such a\nmiserable gift he could not offer to our Lord. The old man implored them\nto accept the lamb out of compassion, for his son lay at the point of\ndeath, and he possessed nothing else that he could offer to God for his\nrestoration. \u201cYou must let me offer it,\u201d said he, \u201celse my prayers will\nnot come before God\u2019s face, and my son will die!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must not believe but that I have the greatest sympathy with you,\u201d\nsaid the priest, \u201cbut in the law it is forbidden to sacrifice a damaged\nanimal. It is just as impossible to grant your prayers, as it is to\ncross Paradise Bridge.\u201d\n\nThe little boy did not sit very far away, so he heard all this.\nInstantly he thought what a pity it was that no one could cross the\nbridge. Perhaps the poor man might keep his son if the lamb were\nsacrificed.\n\nThe old man left the Temple Court disconsolate, but the boy got up,\nwalked over to the trembling bridge, and put his foot on it.\n\nHe didn\u2019t think at all about wanting to cross it to be certain of\nParadise. His thoughts were with the poor man, whom he desired to help.\n\nBut he drew back his foot, for he thought: \u201cThis is impossible. It is\nmuch too old and rusty, and would not hold even me!\u201d\n\nBut once again his thoughts went out to the old man whose son lay at\ndeath\u2019s door. Again he put his foot down upon the blade.\n\nThen he noticed that it ceased to tremble, and that beneath his foot it\nfelt broad and secure.\n\nAnd when he took the next step upon it, he felt that the air around him\nsupported him, so that he could not fall. It bore him as though he were\na bird, and had wings.\n\nBut from the suspended sword a sweet tone trembled when the boy walked\nupon it, and one of those who stood in the court turned around when he\nheard the tone. He gave a cry, and then the others turned and saw the\nlittle boy tripping across the sword.\n\nThere was great consternation among all who stood there. The first who\ncame to their senses were the priests. They immediately sent a messenger\nafter the poor man, and when he came back they said to him: \u201cGod has\nperformed a miracle to show us that He will accept your offering. Give\nus your lamb and we will sacrifice it.\u201d\n\nWhen this was done they asked for the little boy who had walked across\nthe chasm; but when they looked around for him they could not find him.\n\nFor just after the boy had crossed the chasm, he happened to think of\nthe journey home, and of his parents. He did not know that the morning\nand the whole forenoon were gone, but thought: \u201cI must make haste and\nget back, so that they will not have to wait. But first I want to run\nover and take a look at the Voice of the Prince of this World.\u201d\n\nAnd he stole away through the crowd and ran over to the damp\npillar-aisle where the copper trumpet stood leaning against the wall.\n\nWhen he saw it, and thought about the prediction that he who could coax\na tone from it should one day gather all the peoples of earth under his\ndominion, he fancied that never had he seen anything so wonderful! and\nhe sat down beside it and regarded it.\n\nHe thought how great it would be to win all the peoples of earth, and\nhow much he wished that he could blow in the old trumpet. But he\nunderstood that it was impossible, so he didn\u2019t even dare try.\n\nHe sat like this for several hours, but he did not know how the time\npassed. He thought only how marvelous it would be to gather all the\npeoples of earth under his dominion.\n\nBut it happened that in this cool passageway sat a holy man who\ninstructed his pupils, that sat at his feet.\n\nAnd now this holy man turned toward one of his pupils and told him that\nhe was an impostor. He said the spirit had revealed to him that this\nyouth was a stranger, and not an Israelite. And he demanded why he had\nsneaked in among his pupils under a false name.\n\nThen the strange youth rose and said that he had wandered through\ndeserts and sailed over great seas that he might hear wisdom and the\ndoctrine of the only true God expounded. \u201cMy soul was faint with\nlonging,\u201d he said to the holy man. \u201cBut I knew that you would not teach\nme if I did not say that I was an Israelite. Therefore, I lied to you,\nthat my longing should be satisfied. And I pray that you will let me\nremain here with you.\u201d\n\nBut the holy man stood up and raised his arms toward heaven. \u201cIt is just\nas impossible to let you remain here with me, as it is that some one\nshall arise and blow in the huge copper trumpet, which we call the Voice\nof the Prince of this World! You are not even permitted to enter this\npart of the Temple. Leave this place at once, or my pupils will throw\nthemselves upon you and tear you in pieces, for your presence desecrates\nthe Temple.\u201d\n\nBut the youth stood still, and said: \u201cI do not wish to go elsewhere,\nwhere my soul can find no nourishment. I would rather die here at your\nfeet.\u201d\n\nHardly was this said when the holy man\u2019s pupils jumped to their feet, to\ndrive him away, and when he made resistance, they threw him down and\nwished to kill him.\n\nBut the boy sat very near, so he heard and saw all this, and he thought:\n\u201cThis is a great injustice. Oh! if I could only blow in the big copper\ntrumpet, he would be helped.\u201d\n\nHe rose and laid his hand on the trumpet. At this moment he no longer\nwished that he could raise it to his lips because he who could do so\nshould be a great ruler, but because he hoped that he might help one\nwhose life was in danger.\n\nAnd he grasped the copper trumpet with his tiny hands, to try and lift\nit.\n\nThen he felt that the huge trumpet raised itself to his lips. And when\nhe only breathed, a strong, resonant tone came forth from the trumpet,\nand reverberated all through the great Temple.\n\nThen they all turned their eyes and saw that it was a little boy who\nstood with the trumpet to his lips and coaxed from it tones which made\nfoundations and pillars tremble.\n\nInstantly, all the hands which had been lifted to strike the strange\nyouth fell, and the holy teacher said to him:\n\n\u201cCome and sit thee here at my feet, as thou didst sit before! God hath\nperformed a miracle to show me that it is His wish that thou shouldst be\nconsecrated to His service.\u201d\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nAs it drew on toward the close of day, a man and a woman came hurrying\ntoward Jerusalem. They looked frightened and anxious, and called out to\neach and every one whom they met: \u201cWe have lost our son! We thought he\nhad followed our relatives, but none of them have seen him. Has any one\nof you passed a child alone?\u201d\n\nThose who came from Jerusalem answered them: \u201cIndeed, we have not seen\nyour son, but in the Temple we saw a most beautiful child! He was like\nan angel from heaven, and he has passed through Righteousness\u2019 Gate.\u201d\n\nThey would gladly have related, very minutely, all about this, but the\nparents had no time to listen.\n\nWhen they had walked on a little farther, they met other persons and\nquestioned them.\n\nBut those who came from Jerusalem wished to talk only about a most\nbeautiful child who looked as though he had come down from heaven, and\nwho had crossed Paradise Bridge.\n\nThey would gladly have stopped and talked about this until late at\nnight, but the man and woman had no time to listen to them, and hurried\ninto the city.\n\nThey walked up one street and down another without finding the child. At\nlast they reached the Temple. As they came up to it, the woman said:\n\u201cSince we are here, let us go in and see what the child is like, which\nthey say has come down from heaven!\u201d They went in and asked where they\nshould find the child.\n\n\u201cGo straight on to where the holy teachers sit with their students.\nThere you will find the child. The old men have seated him in their\nmidst. They question him and he questions them, and they are all amazed\nat him. But all the people stand below in the Temple court, to catch a\nglimpse of the one who has raised the Voice of the Prince of this World\nto his lips.\u201d\n\nThe man and the woman made their way through the throng of people, and\nsaw that the child who sat among the wise teachers was their son.\n\nBut as soon as the woman recognized the child she began to weep.\n\nAnd the boy who sat among the wise men heard that some one wept, and he\nknew that it was his mother. Then he rose and came over to her, and the\nfather and mother took him between them and went from the Temple with\nhim.\n\nBut as the mother continued to weep, the child asked: \u201cWhy weepest thou?\nI came to thee as soon as I heard thy voice.\u201d\n\n\u201cShould I not weep?\u201d said the mother. \u201cI believed that thou wert lost to\nme.\u201d\n\nThey went out from the city and darkness came on, and all the while the\nmother wept.\n\n\u201cWhy weepest thou?\u201d asked the child. \u201cI did not know that the day was\nspent. I thought it was still morning, and I came to thee as soon as I\nheard thy voice.\u201d\n\n\u201cShould I not weep?\u201d said the mother. \u201cI have sought for thee all day\nlong. I believed that thou wert lost to me.\u201d\n\nThey walked the whole night, and the mother wept all the while.\n\nWhen day began to dawn, the child said: \u201cWhy dost thou weep? I have not\nsought mine own glory, but God has let me perform miracles because He\nwanted to help the three poor creatures. As soon as I heard thy voice, I\ncame to thee.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d replied the mother. \u201cI weep because thou art none the less\nlost to me. Thou wilt never more belong to me. Henceforth thy life\nambition shall be righteousness; thy longing, Paradise; and thy love\nshall embrace all the poor human beings who people this earth.\u201d\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: Saint Veronica\u2019s Kerchief]\n\n                       SAINT VERONICA\u2019S KERCHIEF\n\n\n                                   I\n\nDuring one of the latter years of Emperor Tiberius\u2019 reign, a poor\nvine-dresser and his wife came and settled in a solitary hut among the\nSabine mountains. They were strangers, and lived in absolute solitude\nwithout ever receiving a visit from a human being. But one morning when\nthe laborer opened his door, he found, to his astonishment, that an old\nwoman sat huddled up on the threshold. She was wrapped in a plain gray\nmantle, and looked very poor. Nevertheless, she impressed him as being\nso respect-compelling, as she rose and came to meet him, that it made\nhim think of what the legends had to say about goddesses who, in the\nform of old women, had visited mortals.\n\n\u201cMy friend,\u201d said the old woman to the vine-dresser, \u201cyou must not\nwonder that I have slept this night on your threshold. My parents lived\nin this hut, and here I was born nearly ninety years ago. I expected to\nfind it empty and deserted. I did not know that people still occupied\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not wonder that you thought a hut which lies so high up among\nthese desolate hills should stand empty and deserted,\u201d said the\nvine-dresser. \u201cBut my wife and I come from a foreign land, and as poor\nstrangers we have not been able to find a better dwelling-place. But to\nyou, who must be tired and hungry after the long journey, which you at\nyour extreme age have undertaken, it is perhaps more welcome that the\nhut is occupied by people than by Sabine mountain wolves. You will at\nleast find a bed within to rest on, and a bowl of goats\u2019 milk, and a\nbread-cake, if you will accept them.\u201d\n\nThe old woman smiled a little, but this smile was so fleeting that it\ncould not dispel the expression of deep sorrow which rested upon her\ncountenance.\n\n\u201cI spent my entire youth up here among these mountains,\u201d she said. \u201cI\nhave not yet forgotten the trick of driving a wolf from his lair.\u201d\n\nAnd she actually looked so strong and vigorous that the laborer didn\u2019t\ndoubt that she still possessed strength enough, despite her great age,\nto fight with the wild beasts of the forest.\n\nHe repeated his invitation, and the old woman stepped into the cottage.\nShe sat down to the frugal meal, and partook of it without hesitancy.\nAlthough she seemed to be well satisfied with the fare of coarse bread\nsoaked in goats\u2019 milk, both the man and his wife thought: \u201cWhere can\nthis old wanderer come from? She has certainly eaten pheasants served on\nsilver plates oftener than she has drunk goats\u2019 milk from earthen\nbowls.\u201d\n\nNow and then she raised her eyes from the food and looked around,\u2014as if\nto try and realize that she was back in the hut. The poor old home with\nits bare clay walls and its earth floor was certainly not much changed.\nShe pointed out to her hosts that on the walls there were still visible\nsome traces of dogs and deer which her father had sketched there to\namuse his little children. And on a shelf, high up, she thought she saw\nfragments of an earthen dish which she herself had used to measure milk\nin.\n\nThe man and his wife thought to themselves: \u201cIt must be true that she\nwas born in this hut, but she has surely had much more to attend to in\nthis life than milking goats and making butter and cheese.\u201d\n\nThey observed also that her thoughts were often far away, and that she\nsighed heavily and anxiously every time she came back to herself.\n\nFinally she rose from the table. She thanked them graciously for the\nhospitality she had enjoyed, and walked toward the door.\n\nBut then it seemed to the vine-dresser that she was pitifully poor and\nlonely, and he exclaimed: \u201cIf I am not mistaken, it was not your\nintention, when you dragged yourself up here last night, to leave this\nhut so soon. If you are actually as poor as you seem, it must have been\nyour intention to remain here for the rest of your life. But now you\nwish to leave because my wife and I have taken possession of the hut.\u201d\n\nThe old woman did not deny that he had guessed rightly. \u201cBut this hut,\nwhich for many years has been deserted, belongs to you as much as to\nme,\u201d she said. \u201cI have no right to drive you from it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is still your parents\u2019 hut,\u201d said the laborer, \u201cand you surely have\na better right to it than we have. Besides, we are young and you are\nold; therefore, you shall remain and we will go.\u201d\n\nWhen the old woman heard this, she was greatly astonished. She turned\naround on the threshold and stared at the man, as though she had not\nunderstood what he meant by his words.\n\nBut now the young wife joined in the conversation.\n\n\u201cIf I might suggest,\u201d said she to her husband, \u201cI should beg you to ask\nthis old woman if she won\u2019t look upon us as her own children, and permit\nus to stay with her and take care of her. What service would we render\nher if we gave her this miserable hut and then left her? It would be\nterrible for her to live here in this wilderness alone! And what would\nshe live on? It would be just like letting her starve to death.\u201d\n\nThe old woman went up to the man and his wife and regarded them\ncarefully. \u201cWhy do you speak thus?\u201d she asked. \u201cWhy are you so merciful\nto me? You are strangers.\u201d\n\nThen the young wife answered: \u201cIt is because we ourselves once met with\ngreat mercy.\u201d\n\n                                   II\n\nThis is how the old woman came to live in the vine-dresser\u2019s hut. And\nshe conceived a great friendship for the young people. But for all that\nshe never told them whence she had come, or who she was, and they\nunderstood that she would not have taken it in good part had they\nquestioned her.\n\nBut one evening, when the day\u2019s work was done, and all three sat on the\nbig, flat rock which lay before the entrance, and partook of their\nevening meal, they saw an old man coming up the path.\n\nHe was a tall and powerfully built man, with shoulders as broad as a\ngladiator\u2019s. His face wore a cheerless and stern expression. The brows\njutted far out over the deep-set eyes, and the lines around the mouth\nexpressed bitterness and contempt. He walked with erect bearing and\nquick movements.\n\nThe man wore a simple dress, and the instant the vine-dresser saw him,\nhe said: \u201cHe is an old soldier, one who has been discharged from service\nand is now on his way home.\u201d\n\nWhen the stranger came directly before them he paused, as if in doubt.\nThe laborer, who knew that the road terminated a short distance beyond\nthe hut, laid down his spoon and called out to him: \u201cHave you gone\nastray, stranger, since you come hither? Usually, no one takes the\ntrouble to climb up here, unless he has an errand to one of us who live\nhere.\u201d\n\nWhen he questioned in this manner, the stranger came nearer. \u201cIt is as\nyou say,\u201d said he. \u201cI have taken the wrong road, and now I know not\nwhither I shall direct my steps. If you will let me rest here a while,\nand then tell me which path I shall follow to get to some farm, I shall\nbe grateful to you.\u201d\n\nAs he spake he sat down upon one of the stones which lay before the hut.\nThe young woman asked him if he wouldn\u2019t share their supper, but this he\ndeclined with a smile. On the other hand it was very evident that he was\ninclined to talk with them, while they ate. He asked the young folks\nabout their manner of living, and their work, and they answered him\nfrankly and cheerfully.\n\nSuddenly the laborer turned toward the stranger and began to question\nhim. \u201cYou see in what a lonely and isolated way we live,\u201d said he. \u201cIt\nmust be a year at least since I have talked with any one except\nshepherds and vineyard laborers. Can not you, who must come from some\ncamp, tell us something about Rome and the Emperor?\u201d\n\nHardly had the man said this than the young wife noticed that the old\nwoman gave him a warning glance, and made with her hand the sign which\nmeans\u2014Have a care what you say.\n\nThe stranger, meanwhile, answered very affably: \u201cI understand that you\ntake me for a soldier, which is not untrue, although I have long since\nleft the service. During Tiberius\u2019 reign there has not been much work\nfor us soldiers. Yet he was once a great commander. Those were the days\nof his good fortune. Now he thinks of nothing except to guard himself\nagainst conspiracies. In Rome, every one is talking about how, last\nweek, he let Senator Titius be seized and executed on the merest\nsuspicion.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe poor Emperor no longer knows what he does!\u201d exclaimed the young\nwoman; and shook her head in pity and surprise.\n\n\u201cYou are perfectly right,\u201d said the stranger, as an expression of the\ndeepest melancholy crossed his countenance. \u201cTiberius knows that every\none hates him, and this is driving him insane.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat say you?\u201d the woman retorted. \u201cWhy should we hate him? We only\ndeplore the fact that he is no longer the great Emperor he was in the\nbeginning of his reign.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are mistaken,\u201d said the stranger. \u201cEvery one hates and detests\nTiberius. Why should they do otherwise? He is nothing but a cruel and\nmerciless tyrant. In Rome they think that from now on he will become\neven more unreasonable than he has been.\u201d\n\n\u201cHas anything happened, then, which will turn him into a worse beast\nthan he is already?\u201d queried the vine-dresser.\n\nWhen he said this, the wife noticed that the old woman gave him a new\nwarning signal, but so stealthily that he could not see it.\n\nThe stranger answered him in a kindly manner, but at the same time a\nsingular smile played about his lips.\n\n\u201cYou have heard, perhaps, that until now Tiberius has had a friend in\nhis household on whom he could rely, and who has always told him the\ntruth. All the rest who live in his palace are fortune-hunters and\nhypocrites, who praise the Emperor\u2019s wicked and cunning acts just as\nmuch as his good and admirable ones. But there was, as we have said, one\nalone who never feared to let him know how his conduct was actually\nregarded. This person, who was more courageous than senators and\ngenerals, was the Emperor\u2019s old nurse, Faustina.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have heard of her,\u201d said the laborer. \u201cI\u2019ve been told that the\nEmperor has always shown her great friendship.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Tiberius knew how to prize her affection and loyalty. He treated\nthis poor peasant woman, who came from a miserable hut in the Sabine\nmountains, as his second mother. As long as he stayed in Rome, he let\nher live in a mansion on the Palatine, that he might always have her\nnear him. None of Rome\u2019s noble matrons has fared better than she. She\nwas borne through the streets in a litter, and her dress was that of an\nempress. When the Emperor moved to Capri, she had to accompany him, and\nhe bought a country estate for her there, and filled it with slaves and\ncostly furnishings.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe has certainly fared well,\u201d said the husband.\n\nNow it was he who kept up the conversation with the stranger. The wife\nsat silent and observed with surprise the change which had come over the\nold woman. Since the stranger arrived, she had not spoken a word. She\nhad lost her mild and friendly expression. She had pushed her food\naside, and sat erect and rigid against the door-post, and stared\nstraight ahead, with a severe and stony countenance.\n\n\u201cIt was the Emperor\u2019s intention that she should have a happy life,\u201d said\nthe stranger. \u201cBut, despite all his kindly acts, she too has deserted\nhim.\u201d\n\nThe old woman gave a start at these words, but the young one laid her\nhand quietingly on her arm. Then she began to speak in her soft,\nsympathetic voice. \u201cI can not believe that Faustina has been as happy at\ncourt as you say,\u201d she said, as she turned toward the stranger. \u201cI am\nsure that she has loved Tiberius as if he had been her own son. I can\nunderstand how proud she has been of his noble youth, and I can even\nunderstand how it must have grieved her to see him abandon himself in\nhis old age to suspicion and cruelty. She has certainly warned and\nadmonished him every day. It has been terrible for her always to plead\nin vain. At last she could no longer bear to see him sink lower and\nlower.\u201d\n\nThe stranger, astonished, leaned forward a bit when he heard this; but\nthe young woman did not glance up at him. She kept her eyes lowered, and\nspoke very calmly and gently.\n\n\u201cPerhaps you are right in what you say of the old woman,\u201d he replied.\n\u201cFaustina has really not been happy at court. It seems strange,\nnevertheless, that she has left the Emperor in his old age, when she had\nendured him the span of a lifetime.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat say you?\u201d asked the husband. \u201cHas old Faustina left the Emperor?\u201d\n\n\u201cShe has stolen away from Capri without any one\u2019s knowledge,\u201d said the\nstranger. \u201cShe left just as poor as she came. She has not taken one of\nher treasures with her.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd doesn\u2019t the Emperor really know where she has gone?\u201d asked the\nwife.\n\n\u201cNo! No one knows for certain what road the old woman has taken. Still,\none takes it for granted that she has sought refuge among her native\nmountains.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the Emperor does not know, either, why she has gone away?\u201d asked\nthe young woman.\n\n\u201cNo, the Emperor knows nothing of this. He can not believe she left him\nbecause he once told her that she served him for money and gifts only,\nlike all the rest. She knows, however, that he has never doubted her\nunselfishness. He has hoped all along that she would return to him\nvoluntarily, for no one knows better than she that he is absolutely\nwithout friends.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know her,\u201d said the young woman, \u201cbut I think I can tell you\nwhy she has left the Emperor. The old woman was brought up among these\nmountains in simplicity and piety, and she has always longed to come\nback here again. Surely she never would have abandoned the Emperor if he\nhad not insulted her. But I understand that, after this, she feels she\nhas the right to think of herself, since her days are numbered. If I\nwere a poor woman of the mountains, I certainly would have acted as she\ndid. I would have thought that I had done enough when I had served my\nmaster during a whole lifetime. I would at last have abandoned luxury\nand royal favors to give my soul a taste of honor and integrity before\nit left me for the long journey.\u201d\n\nThe stranger glanced with a deep and tender sadness at the young woman.\n\u201cYou do not consider that the Emperor\u2019s propensities will become worse\nthan ever. Now there is no one who can calm him when suspicion and\nmisanthropy take possession of him. Think of this,\u201d he continued, as his\nmelancholy gaze penetrated deeply into the eyes of the young woman, \u201cin\nall the world there is no one now whom he does not hate; no one whom he\ndoes not despise\u2014no one!\u201d\n\nAs he uttered these words of bitter despair, the old woman made a sudden\nmovement and turned toward him, but the young woman looked him straight\nin the eyes and answered: \u201cTiberius knows that Faustina will come back\nto him whenever he wishes it. But first she must know that her old eyes\nneed never more behold vice and infamy at his court.\u201d\n\nThey had all risen during this speech; but the vine-dresser and his wife\nplaced themselves in front of the old woman, as if to shield her.\n\nThe stranger did not utter another syllable, but regarded the old woman\nwith a questioning glance. Is this _your_ last word also? he seemed to\nwant to say. The old woman\u2019s lips quivered, but words would not pass\nthem.\n\n\u201cIf the Emperor has loved his old servant, then he can also let her live\nher last days in peace,\u201d said the young woman.\n\nThe stranger hesitated still, but suddenly his dark countenance\nbrightened. \u201cMy friends,\u201d said he, \u201cwhatever one may say of Tiberius,\nthere is one thing which he has learned better than others; and that\nis\u2014renunciation. I have only one thing more to say to you: If this old\nwoman, of whom we have spoken, should come to this hut, receive her\nwell! The Emperor\u2019s favor rests upon any one who succors her.\u201d\n\nHe wrapped his mantle about him and departed the same way that he had\ncome.\n\n                                  III\n\nAfter this, the vine-dresser and his wife never again spoke to the old\nwoman about the Emperor. Between themselves they marveled that she, at\nher great age, had had the strength to renounce all the wealth and power\nto which she had become accustomed. \u201cI wonder if she will not soon go\nback to Tiberius?\u201d they asked themselves. \u201cIt is certain that she still\nloves him. It is in the hope that it will awaken him to reason and\nenable him to repent of his low conduct, that she has left him.\u201d\n\n\u201cA man as old as the Emperor will never begin a new life,\u201d said the\nlaborer. \u201cHow are you going to rid him of his great contempt for\nmankind? Who could go to him and teach him to love his fellow man? Until\nthis happens, he can not be cured of suspicion and cruelty.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou know that there is one who could actually do it,\u201d said the wife. \u201cI\noften think of how it would turn out, if the two should meet. But God\u2019s\nways are not our ways.\u201d\n\nThe old woman did not seem to miss her former life at all. After a time\nthe young wife gave birth to a child. The old woman had the care of it;\nshe seemed so content in consequence that one could have thought she had\nforgotten all her sorrows.\n\nOnce every half-year she used to wrap her long, gray mantle around her,\nand wander down to Rome. There she did not seek a soul, but went\nstraight to the Forum. Here she stopped outside a little temple, which\nwas erected on one side of the superbly decorated square.\n\nAll there was of this temple was an uncommonly large altar, which stood\nin a marble-paved court under the open sky. On the top of the altar,\nFortuna, the goddess of happiness, was enthroned, and at its foot was a\nstatue of Tiberius. Encircling the court were buildings for the priests,\nstorerooms for fuel, and stalls for the beasts of sacrifice.\n\nOld Faustina\u2019s journeys never extended beyond this temple, where those\nwho would pray for the welfare of Tiberius were wont to come. When she\ncast a glance in there and saw that both the goddess\u2019 and the Emperor\u2019s\nstatue were wreathed in flowers; that the sacrificial fire burned; that\nthrongs of reverent worshipers were assembled before the altar, and\nheard the priests\u2019 low chants sounding thereabouts, she turned around\nand went back to the mountains.\n\nIn this way she learned, without having to question a human being, that\nTiberius was still among the living, and that all was well with him.\n\nThe third time she undertook this journey, she met with a surprise. When\nshe reached the little temple, she found it empty and deserted. No fire\nburned before the statue, and not a worshiper was seen. A couple of\ndried garlands still hung on one side of the altar, but this was all\nthat testified to its former glory. The priests were gone, and the\nEmperor\u2019s statue, which stood there unguarded, was damaged and\nmud-bespattered.\n\nThe old woman turned to the first passer-by. \u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d she\nasked. \u201cIs Tiberius dead? Have we another Emperor?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied the Roman, \u201cTiberius is still Emperor, but we have ceased\nto pray for him. Our prayers can no longer benefit him.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy friend,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cI live far away among the mountains,\nwhere one learns nothing of what happens out in the world. Won\u2019t you\ntell me what dreadful misfortune has overtaken the Emperor?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe most dreadful of all misfortunes! He has been stricken with a\ndisease which has never before been known in Italy, but which seems to\nbe common in the Orient. Since this evil has befallen the Emperor, his\nfeatures are changed, his voice has become like an animal\u2019s grunt, and\nhis toes and fingers are rotting away. And for this illness there\nappears to be no remedy. They believe that he will die within a few\nweeks. But if he does not die, he will be dethroned, for such an ill and\nwretched man can no longer conduct the affairs of State. You understand,\nof course, that his fate is a foregone conclusion. It is useless to\ninvoke the gods for his success, and it is not worth while,\u201d he added,\nwith a faint smile. \u201cNo one has anything more either to fear or hope\nfrom him. Why, then, should we trouble ourselves on his account?\u201d\n\nHe nodded and walked away; but the old woman stood there as if stunned.\n\nFor the first time in her life she collapsed, and looked like one whom\nage has subdued. She stood with bent back and trembling head, and with\nhands that groped feebly in the air.\n\nShe longed to get away from the place, but she moved her feet slowly.\nShe looked around to find something which she could use as a staff.\n\nBut after a few moments, by a tremendous effort of the will, she\nsucceeded in conquering the faintness.\n\n                                   IV\n\nA week later, old Faustina wandered up the steep inclines on the Island\nof Capri. It was a warm day and the dread consciousness of old age and\nfeebleness came over her as she labored up the winding roads and the\nhewn-out steps in the mountain, which led to Tiberius\u2019 villa.\n\nThis feeling increased when she observed how changed everything had\nbecome during the time she had been away. In truth, on and alongside\nthese steps there had always before been throngs of people. Here it used\nfairly to swarm with senators, borne by giant Libyans; with messengers\nfrom the provinces attended by long processions of slaves; with\noffice-seekers; with noblemen invited to participate in the Emperor\u2019s\nfeasts.\n\nBut to-day the steps and passages were entirely deserted. Gray-greenish\nlizards were the only living things which the old woman saw in her path.\n\nShe was amazed to see that already everything appeared to be going to\nruin. At most, the Emperor\u2019s illness could not have progressed more than\ntwo months, and yet the grass had already taken root in the cracks\nbetween the marble stones. Rare growths, planted in beautiful vases,\nwere already withered and here and there mischievous spoilers, whom no\none had taken the trouble to stop, had broken down the balustrade.\n\nBut to her the most singular thing of all was the entire absence of\npeople. Even if strangers were forbidden to appear on the island,\nattendants at least should still be found there: the endless crowds of\nsoldiers and slaves; of dancers and musicians; of cooks and stewards; of\npalace-sentinels and gardeners, who belonged to the Emperor\u2019s household.\n\nWhen Faustina reached the upper terrace, she caught sight of two slaves,\nwho sat on the steps in front of the villa. As she approached, they rose\nand bowed to her.\n\n\u201cBe greeted, Faustina!\u201d said one of them. \u201cIt is a god who sends thee to\nlighten our sorrows.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat does this mean, Milo?\u201d asked Faustina. \u201cWhy is it so deserted\nhere? Yet they have told me that Tiberius still lives at Capri.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Emperor has driven away all his slaves because he suspects that one\nof us has given him poisoned wine to drink, and that this has brought on\nthe illness. He would have driven even Tito and myself away, if we had\nnot refused to obey him; yet, as you know, we have all our lives served\nthe Emperor and his mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not ask after slaves only,\u201d said Faustina. \u201cWhere are the senators\nand field marshals? Where are the Emperor\u2019s intimate friends, and all\nthe fawning fortune-hunters?\u201d\n\n\u201cTiberius does not wish to show himself before strangers,\u201d said the\nslave. \u201cSenator Lucius and Marco, Commander of the Life Guard, come here\nevery day and receive orders. No one else may approach him.\u201d\n\nFaustina had gone up the steps to enter the villa. The slave went before\nher, and on the way she asked: \u201cWhat say the physicians of Tiberius\u2019\nillness?\u201d\n\n\u201cNone of them understands how to treat this illness. They do not even\nknow if it kills quickly or slowly. But this I can tell you, Faustina,\nTiberius must die if he continues to refuse all food for fear it may be\npoisoned. And I know that a sick man can not stay awake night and day,\nas the Emperor does, for fear he may be murdered in his sleep. If he\nwill trust you as in former days, you might succeed in making him eat\nand sleep. Thereby you can prolong his life for many days.\u201d\n\nThe slave conducted Faustina through several passages and courts to a\nterrace which Tiberius used to frequent to enjoy the view of the\nbeautiful bays and proud Vesuvius.\n\nWhen Faustina stepped out upon the terrace, she saw a hideous creature\nwith a swollen face and animal-like features. His hands and feet were\nswathed in white bandages, but through the bandages protruded\nhalf-rotted fingers and toes. And this being\u2019s clothes were soiled and\ndusty. It was evident he could not walk erect, but had been obliged to\ncrawl out upon the terrace. He lay with closed eyes near the balustrade\nat the farthest end, and did not move when the slave and Faustina came.\n\nFaustina whispered to the slave, who walked before her: \u201cBut, Milo, how\ncan such a creature be found here on the Emperor\u2019s private terrace? Make\nhaste, and take him away!\u201d\n\nBut she had scarcely said this when she saw the slave bow to the ground\nbefore the miserable creature who lay there.\n\n\u201cC\u00e6sar Tiberius,\u201d said he, \u201cat last I have glad tidings to bring thee.\u201d\n\nAt the same time the slave turned toward Faustina, but he shrank back,\naghast! and could not speak another word.\n\nHe did not behold the proud matron who had looked so strong that one\nmight have expected that she would live to the age of a sibyl. In this\nmoment, she had drooped into impotent age, and the slave saw before him\na bent old woman with misty eyes and fumbling hands.\n\nFaustina had certainly heard that the Emperor was terribly changed, yet\nnever for a moment had she ceased to think of him as the strong man he\nwas when she last saw him. She had also heard some one say that this\nillness progressed slowly, and that it took years to transform a human\nbeing. But here it had advanced with such virulence that it had made the\nEmperor unrecognizable in just two months.\n\nShe tottered up to the Emperor. She could not speak, but stood silent\nbeside him, and wept.\n\n\u201cAre you come now, Faustina?\u201d he said, without opening his eyes. \u201cI lay\nand fancied that you stood here and wept over me. I dare not look up for\nfear I will find that it was only an illusion.\u201d\n\nThen the old woman sat down beside him. She raised his head and placed\nit on her knee.\n\nBut Tiberius lay still, without looking at her. A sense of sweet repose\nenfolded him, and the next moment he sank into a peaceful slumber.\n\n                                   V\n\nA few weeks later, one of the Emperor\u2019s slaves came to the lonely hut in\nthe Sabine mountains. It drew on toward evening, and the vine-dresser\nand his wife stood in the doorway and saw the sun set in the distant\nwest. The slave turned out of the path, and came up and greeted them.\nThereupon he took a heavy purse, which he carried in his girdle, and\nlaid it in the husband\u2019s hand.\n\n\u201cThis, Faustina, the old woman to whom you have shown compassion, sends\nyou,\u201d said the slave. \u201cShe begs that with this money you will purchase a\nvineyard of your own, and build you a house that does not lie as high in\nthe air as the eagles\u2019 nests.\u201d\n\n\u201cOld Faustina still lives, then?\u201d said the husband. \u201cWe have searched\nfor her in cleft and morass. When she did not come back to us, I thought\nthat she had met her death in these wretched mountains.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t you remember,\u201d the wife interposed, \u201cthat I would not believe\nthat she was dead? Did I not say to you that she had gone back to the\nEmperor?\u201d\n\nThis the husband admitted. \u201cAnd I am glad,\u201d he added, \u201cthat you were\nright, not only because Faustina has become rich enough to help us out\nof our poverty, but also on the poor Emperor\u2019s account.\u201d\n\nThe slave wanted to say farewell at once, in order to reach densely\nsettled quarters before dark, but this the couple would not permit. \u201cYou\nmust stop with us until morning,\u201d said they. \u201cWe can not let you go\nbefore you have told us all that has happened to Faustina. Why has she\nreturned to the Emperor? What was their meeting like? Are they glad to\nbe together again?\u201d\n\nThe slave yielded to these solicitations. He followed them into the hut,\nand during the evening meal he told them all about the Emperor\u2019s illness\nand Faustina\u2019s return.\n\nWhen the slave had finished his narrative, he saw that both the man and\nthe woman sat motionless\u2014dumb with amazement. Their gaze was fixed on\nthe ground, as though not to betray the emotion which affected them.\n\nFinally the man looked up and said to his wife: \u201cDon\u2019t you believe God\nhas decreed this?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the wife, \u201csurely it was for this that our Lord sent us\nacross the sea to this lonely hut. Surely this was His purpose when He\nsent the old woman to our door.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the wife had spoken these words, the vine-dresser turned\nagain to the slave.\n\n\u201cFriend!\u201d he said to him, \u201cyou shall carry a message from me to\nFaustina. Tell her this word for word! Thus your friend the vineyard\nlaborer from the Sabine mountains greets you. You have seen the young\nwoman, my wife. Did she not appear fair to you, and blooming with\nhealth? And yet this young woman once suffered from the same disease\nwhich now has stricken Tiberius.\u201d\n\nThe slave made a gesture of surprise, but the vine-dresser continued\nwith greater emphasis on his words.\n\n\u201cIf Faustina refuses to believe my word, tell her that my wife and I\ncame from Palestine, in Asia, a land where this disease is common. There\nthe law is such that the lepers are driven from the cities and towns,\nand must live in tombs and mountain grottoes. Tell Faustina that my wife\nwas born of diseased parents in a mountain grotto. As long as she was a\nchild she was healthy, but when she grew up into young maidenhood she\nwas stricken with the disease.\u201d\n\nThe slave bowed, smiled pleasantly, and said: \u201cHow can you expect that\nFaustina will believe this? She has seen your wife in her beauty and\nhealth. And she must know that there is no remedy for this illness.\u201d\n\nThe man replied: \u201cIt were best for her that she believed me. But I am\nnot without witnesses. She can send inquiries over to Nazareth, in\nGalilee. There every one will confirm my statement.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it perchance through a miracle of some god that your wife has been\ncured?\u201d asked the slave.\n\n\u201cYes, it is as you say,\u201d answered the laborer. \u201cOne day a rumor reached\nthe sick who lived in the wilderness: \u2018Behold, a great Prophet has\narisen in Nazareth of Galilee. He is filled with the power of God\u2019s\nspirit, and he can cure your illness just by laying his hand upon your\nforehead!\u2019 But the sick, who lay in their misery, would not believe that\nthis rumor was the truth. \u2018No one can heal us,\u2019 they said. \u2018Since the\ndays of the great prophets no one has been able to save one of us from\nthis misfortune.\u2019\n\n\u201cBut there was one amongst them who believed, and that was a young\nmaiden. She left the others to seek her way to the city of Nazareth,\nwhere the Prophet lived. One day, when she wandered over wide plains,\nshe met a man tall of stature, with a pale face and hair which lay in\neven, black curls. His dark eyes shone like stars and drew her toward\nhim. But before they met, she called out to him: \u2018Come not near me, for\nI am unclean, but tell me where I can find the Prophet from Nazareth!\u2019\nBut the man continued to walk towards her, and when he stood directly in\nfront of her, he said: \u2018Why seekest thou the Prophet of Nazareth?\u2019\u2014\u2018I\nseek him that he may lay his hand on my forehead and heal me of my\nillness.\u2019 Then the man went up and laid his hand upon her brow. But she\nsaid to him: \u2018What doth it avail me that you lay your hand upon my\nforehead? You surely are no prophet?\u2019 Then he smiled on her and said:\n\u2018Go now into the city which lies yonder at the foot of the mountain, and\nshow thyself before the priests!\u2019\n\n\u201cThe sick maiden thought to herself: \u2018He mocks me because I believe I\ncan be healed. From him I can not learn what I would know.\u2019 And she went\nfarther. Soon thereafter she saw a man, who was going out to hunt,\nriding across the wide field. When he came so near that he could hear\nher, she called to him: \u2018Come not close to me, I am unclean! But tell me\nwhere I can find the Prophet of Nazareth!\u2019 \u2018What do you want of the\nProphet?\u2019 asked the man, riding slowly toward her. \u2018I wish only that he\nmight lay his hand on my forehead and heal me of my illness.\u2019 The man\nrode still nearer. \u2018Of what illness do you wish to be healed?\u2019 said he.\n\u2018Surely you need no physician!\u2019 \u2018Can\u2019t you see that I am a leper?\u2019 said\nshe. \u2018I was born of diseased parents in a mountain grotto.\u2019 But the man\ncontinued to approach, for she was beautiful and fair, like a new-blown\nrose. \u2018You are the most beautiful maiden in Judea!\u2019 he exclaimed. \u2018Ah,\ntaunt me not\u2014you, too!\u2019 said she. \u2018I know that my features are\ndestroyed, and that my voice is like a wild beast\u2019s growl.\u2019\n\n\u201cHe looked deep into her eyes and said to her: \u2018Your voice is as\nresonant as the spring brook\u2019s when it ripples over pebbles, and your\nface is as smooth as a coverlet of soft satin.\u2019\n\n\u201cThat moment he rode so close to her that she could see her face in the\nshining mountings which decorated his saddle. \u2018You shall look at\nyourself here,\u2019 said he. She did so, and saw a face smooth and soft as a\nnewly-formed butterfly wing. \u2018What is this that I see?\u2019 she said. \u2018This\nis not my face!\u2019 \u2018Yes, it is your face,\u2019 said the rider. \u2018But my voice,\nis it not rough? Does it not sound as when wagons are drawn over a stony\nroad?\u2019 \u2018No! It sounds like a zither player\u2019s sweetest songs,\u2019 said the\nrider.\n\n\u201cShe turned and pointed toward the road. \u2018Do you know who that man is\njust disappearing behind the two oaks?\u2019 she asked.\n\n\u201c\u2018It is he whom you lately asked after; it is the Prophet from\nNazareth,\u2019 said the man. Then she clasped her hands in astonishment, and\ntears filled her eyes. \u2018Oh, thou Holy One! Oh, thou Messenger of God\u2019s\npower!\u2019 she cried. Thou hast healed me!\u2019\n\n\u201cThen the rider lifted her into the saddle and bore her to the city at\nthe foot of the mountain and went with her to the priests and elders,\nand told them how he had found her. They questioned her carefully; but\nwhen they heard that the maiden was born in the wilderness of diseased\nparents, they would not believe that she was healed. \u2018Go back thither\nwhence you came!\u2019 said they. \u2018If you have been ill, you must remain so\nas long as you live. You must not come here to the city, to infect the\nrest of us with your disease.\u2019\n\n\u201cShe said to them: \u2018I know that I am well, for the Prophet from Nazareth\nhath laid his hand upon my forehead.\u2019\n\n\u201cWhen they heard this they exclaimed: \u2018Who is he, that he should be able\nto make clean the unclean? All this is but a delusion of the evil\nspirits. Go back to your own, that you may not bring destruction upon\nall of us!\u2019\n\n\u201cThey would not declare her healed, and they forbade her to remain in\nthe city. They decreed that each and every one who gave her shelter\nshould also be adjudged unclean.\n\n\u201cWhen the priests had pronounced this judgment, the young maiden turned\nto the man who had found her in the field: \u2018Whither shall I go now? Must\nI go back again to the lepers in the wilderness?\u2019\n\n\u201cBut the man lifted her once more upon his horse, and said to her: \u2018No,\nunder no conditions shall you go out to the lepers in their mountain\ncaves, but we two shall travel across the sea to another land, where\nthere are no laws for clean and unclean.\u2019 And they\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\nBut when the vineyard laborer had got thus far in his narrative, the\nslave arose and interrupted him. \u201cYou need not tell any more,\u201d said he.\n\u201cStand up rather and follow me on the way, you who know the mountains,\nso that I can begin my home journey to-night, and not wait until\nmorning. The Emperor and Faustina can not hear your tidings a moment too\nsoon.\u201d\n\nWhen the vine-dresser had accompanied the slave, and come home again to\nthe hut, he found his wife still awake.\n\n\u201cI can not sleep,\u201d said she. \u201cI am thinking that these two will meet: he\nwho loves all mankind, and he who hates them. Such a meeting would be\nenough to sweep the earth out of existence!\u201d\n\n                                   VI\n\nOld Faustina was in distant Palestine, on her way to Jerusalem. She had\nnot desired that the mission to seek the Prophet and bring him to the\nEmperor should be intrusted to any one but herself. She said to herself:\n\u201cThat which we demand of this stranger, is something which we can not\ncoax from him either by force or bribes. But perhaps he will grant it us\nif some one falls at his feet and tells him in what dire need the\nEmperor is. Who can make an honest plea for Tiberius, but the one who\nsuffers from his misfortune as much as he does?\u201d\n\nThe hope of possibly saving Tiberius had renewed the old woman\u2019s youth.\nShe withstood without difficulty the long sea trip to Joppa, and on the\njourney to Jerusalem she made no use of a litter, but rode a horse. She\nappeared to stand the difficult ride as easily as the Roman nobles, the\nsoldiers, and the slaves who made up her retinue.\n\nThe journey from Joppa to Jerusalem filled the old woman\u2019s heart with\njoy and bright hopes. It was springtime, and Sharon\u2019s plain, over which\nthey had ridden during the first day\u2019s travel, had been a brilliant\ncarpet of flowers. Even during the second day\u2019s journey, when they came\nto the hills of Judea, they were not abandoned by the flowers. All the\nmultiformed hills between which the road wound were planted with fruit\ntrees, which stood in full bloom. And when the travelers wearied of\nlooking at the white and red blossoms of the apricots and persimmons,\nthey could rest their eyes by observing the young vine-leaves, which\npushed their way through the dark brown branches, and their growth was\nso rapid that one could almost follow it with the eye.\n\nIt was not only flowers and spring green that made the journey pleasant,\nbut the pleasure was enhanced by watching the throngs of people who were\non their way to Jerusalem this morning. From all the roads and by-paths,\nfrom lonely heights, and from the most remote corners of the plain came\ntravelers. When they had reached the road to Jerusalem, those who\ntraveled alone formed themselves into companies and marched forward with\nglad shouts. Round an elderly man, who rode on a jogging camel, walked\nhis sons and daughters, his sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and all\nhis grandchildren. It was such a large family that it made up an entire\nlittle village. An old grandmother who was too feeble to walk her sons\nhad taken in their arms, and with pride she let herself be borne among\nthe crowds, who respectfully stepped aside.\n\nIn truth, it was a morning to inspire joy even in the most disconsolate.\nTo be sure the sky was not clear, but was o\u2019ercast with a thin\ngrayish-white mist, but none of the wayfarers thought of grumbling\nbecause the sun\u2019s piercing brilliancy was dampened. Under this veiled\nsky the perfume of the budding leaves and blossoms did not penetrate the\nair as usual, but lingered over roads and fields. And this beautiful\nday, with its faint mist and hushed winds, which reminded one of Night\u2019s\nrest and calm, seemed to communicate to the hastening crowds somewhat of\nitself, so that they went forward happy\u2014yet with solemnity\u2014singing in\nsubdued voices ancient hymns, or playing upon peculiar old-fashioned\ninstruments, from which came tones like the buzzing of gnats, or\ngrasshoppers\u2019 piping.\n\nWhen old Faustina rode forward among all the people, she became infected\nwith their joy and excitement. She prodded her horse to quicker speed,\nas she said to a young Roman who rode beside her: \u201cI dreamt last night\nthat I saw Tiberius, and he implored me not to postpone the journey, but\nto ride to Jerusalem to-day. It appears as if the gods had wished to\nsend me a warning not to neglect to go there this beautiful morning.\u201d\n\nJust as she said this, she came to the top of a long mountain ridge, and\nthere she was obliged to halt. Before her lay a large, deep\nvalley-basin, surrounded by pretty hills, and from the dark, shadowy\ndepths of the vale rose the massive mountain which held on its head the\ncity of Jerusalem.\n\nBut the narrow mountain city, with its walls and towers, which lay like\na jeweled coronet upon the cliff\u2019s smooth height, was this day magnified\na thousand-fold. All the hills which encircled the valley were bedecked\nwith gay tents, and with a swarm of human beings.\n\nIt was evident to Faustina that all the inhabitants were on their way to\nJerusalem to celebrate some great holiday. Those from a distance had\nalready come, and had managed to put their tents in order. On the other\nhand, those who lived near the city were still on their way. Along all\nthe shining rock-heights one saw them come streaming in like an unbroken\nsea of white robes, of songs, of holiday cheer.\n\nFor some time the old woman surveyed these seething throngs of people\nand the long rows of tent-poles. Thereupon she said to the young Roman\nwho rode beside her:\n\n\u201cVerily, Sulpicius, the whole nation must have come to Jerusalem.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt really appears like it,\u201d replied the Roman, who had been chosen by\nTiberius to accompany Faustina because he had, during a number of years,\nlived in Judea. \u201cThey celebrate now the great Spring Festival, and at\nthis time all the people, both old and young, come to Jerusalem.\u201d\n\nFaustina reflected a moment. \u201cI am glad that we came to this city on the\nday that the people celebrate their festival,\u201d said she. \u201cIt can not\nsignify anything else than that the gods protect our journey. Do you\nthink it likely that he whom we seek, the Prophet of Nazareth, has also\ncome to Jerusalem to participate in the festivities?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are surely right, Faustina,\u201d said the Roman. \u201cHe must be here in\nJerusalem. This is indeed a decree of the gods. Strong and vigorous\nthough you be, you may consider yourself fortunate if you escape making\nthe long and troublesome journey up to Galilee.\u201d\n\nAt once he rode over to a couple of wayfarers and asked them if they\nthought the Prophet of Nazareth was in Jerusalem.\n\n\u201cWe have seen him here every day at this season,\u201d answered one. \u201cSurely\nhe must be here even this year, for he is a holy and righteous man.\u201d\n\nA woman stretched forth her hand and pointed towards a hill, which lay\neast of the city. \u201cDo you see the foot of that mountain, which is\ncovered with olive trees?\u201d she said. \u201cIt is there that the Galileans\nusually raise their tents, and there you will get the most reliable\ninformation about him whom you seek.\u201d\n\nThey journeyed farther, and traveled on a winding path all the way down\nto the bottom of the valley, and then they began to ride up toward\nZion\u2019s hill, to reach the city on its heights. The woman who had spoken\nwent along the same way.\n\nThe steep ascending road was encompassed here by low walls, and upon\nthese countless beggars and cripples sat or lolled. \u201cLook,\u201d said the\nwoman who had spoken, pointing to one of the beggars who sat on the\nwall, \u201cthere is a Galilean! I recollect that I have seen him among the\nProphet\u2019s disciples. He can tell you where you will find him you seek.\u201d\n\nFaustina and Sulpicius rode up to the man who had been pointed out to\nher. He was a poor old man with a heavy iron-gray beard. His face was\nbronzed by heat and sunshine. He asked no alms; on the contrary, he was\nso engrossed in anxious thought that he did not even glance at the\npassers-by.\n\nNor did he hear that Sulpicius addressed him, and the latter had to\nrepeat his question several times.\n\n\u201cMy friend, I\u2019ve been told that you are a Galilean. I beg you,\ntherefore, to tell me where I shall find the Prophet from Nazareth!\u201d\n\nThe Galilean gave a sudden start and looked around him, confused. But\nwhen he finally comprehended what was wanted of him, he was seized with\nrage mixed with terror. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d he burst out. \u201cWhy\ndo you ask me about that man? I know nothing of him. I\u2019m not a\nGalilean.\u201d\n\nThe Hebrew woman now joined in the conversation. \u201cStill I have seen you\nin his company,\u201d she protested. \u201cDo not fear, but tell this noble Roman\nlady, who is the Emperor\u2019s friend, where she is most likely to find\nhim.\u201d\n\nBut the terrified disciple grew more and more irascible. \u201cHave all the\npeople gone mad to-day?\u201d said he. \u201cAre they possessed by an evil spirit,\nsince they come again and again and ask me about that man? Why will no\none believe me when I say that I do not know the Prophet? I do not come\nfrom his country. I have never seen him.\u201d\n\nHis irritability attracted attention, and a couple of beggars who sat on\nthe wall beside him also began to dispute his word.\n\n\u201cCertainly you were among his disciples,\u201d said one. \u201cWe all know that\nyou came with him from Galilee.\u201d\n\nThen the man raised his arms toward heaven and cried: \u201cI could not\nendure it in Jerusalem to-day on that man\u2019s account, and now they will\nnot even leave me in peace out here among the beggars! Why don\u2019t you\nbelieve me when I say to you that I have never seen him?\u201d\n\nFaustina turned away with a shrug. \u201cLet us go farther!\u201d said she. \u201cThe\nman is mad. From him we will learn nothing.\u201d\n\nThey went farther up the mountain. Faustina was not more than two steps\nfrom the city gate, when the Hebrew woman who had wished to help her\nfind the Prophet called to her to be careful. She pulled in her reins\nand saw that a man lay in the road, just in front of the horse\u2019s feet,\nwhere the crush was greatest. It was a miracle that he had not already\nbeen trampled to death by animals or people.\n\nThe man lay upon his back and stared upward with lusterless eyes. He did\nnot move, although the camels placed their heavy feet close beside him.\nHe was poorly clad, and besides he was covered with dust and dirt. In\nfact, he had thrown so much gravel over himself that it looked as if he\ntried to hide himself, to be more easily over-ridden and trampled down.\n\n\u201cWhat does this mean? Why does this man lie here on the road?\u201d asked\nFaustina.\n\nInstantly the man began shouting to the passers-by:\n\n\u201cIn mercy, brothers and sisters, drive your horses and camels over me!\nDo not turn aside for me! Trample me to dust! I have betrayed innocent\nblood. Trample me to dust!\u201d\n\nSulpicius caught Faustina\u2019s horse by the bridle and turned it to one\nside. \u201cIt is a sinner who wants to do penance,\u201d said he. \u201cDo not let\nthis delay your journey. These people are peculiar and one must let them\nfollow their own bent.\u201d\n\nThe man in the road continued to shout: \u201cSet your heels on my heart! Let\nthe camels crush my breast and the asses dig their hoofs into my eyes!\u201d\n\nBut Faustina seemed loath to ride past the miserable man without trying\nto make him rise. She remained all the while beside him.\n\nThe Hebrew woman who had wished to serve her once before, pushed her way\nforward again. \u201cThis man also belonged to the Prophet\u2019s disciples,\u201d said\nshe. \u201cDo you wish me to ask him about his Master?\u201d\n\nFaustina nodded affirmatively, and the woman bent down over the man.\n\n\u201cWhat have you Galileans done this day with your Master?\u201d she asked. \u201cI\nmeet you scattered on highways and byways, but him I see nowhere.\u201d\n\nBut when she questioned in this manner, the man who lay in the dust rose\nto his knees. \u201cWhat evil spirit hath possessed you to ask me about him?\u201d\nhe said, in a voice that was filled with despair. \u201cYou see, surely, that\nI have lain down in the road to be trampled to death. Is not that enough\nfor you? Shall you come also and ask me what I have done with him?\u201d\n\nWhen she repeated the question, the man staggered to his feet and put\nboth hands to his ears.\n\n\u201cWoe unto you, that you can not let me die in peace!\u201d he cried. He\nforced his way through the crowds that thronged in front of the gate,\nand rushed away shrieking with terror, while his torn robe fluttered\naround him like dark wings.\n\n\u201cIt appears to me as though we had come to a nation of madmen,\u201d said\nFaustina, when she saw the man flee. She had become depressed by seeing\nthese disciples of the Prophet. Could the man who numbered such fools\namong his followers do anything for the Emperor?\n\nEven the Hebrew woman looked distressed, and she said very earnestly to\nFaustina: \u201cMistress, delay not in your search for him whom you would\nfind! I fear some evil has befallen him, since his disciples are beside\nthemselves and can not bear to hear him spoken of.\u201d\n\nFaustina and her retinue finally rode through the gate archway and came\nin on the narrow and dark streets, which were alive with people. It\nseemed well-nigh impossible to get through the city. The riders time and\nagain had to stand still. Slaves and soldiers tried in vain to clear the\nway. The people continued to rush on in a compact, irresistible stream.\n\n\u201cVerily,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cthe streets of Rome are peaceful pleasure\ngardens compared with these!\u201d\n\nSulpicius soon saw that almost insurmountable difficulties awaited them.\n\n\u201cOn these overcrowded streets it is easier to walk than to ride,\u201d said\nhe. \u201cIf you are not too fatigued, I should advise you to walk to the\nGovernor\u2019s palace. It is a good distance away, but if we ride we\ncertainly will not get there until after midnight.\u201d\n\nFaustina accepted the suggestion at once. She dismounted, and left her\nhorse with one of the slaves. Thereupon the Roman travelers began to\nwalk through the city.\n\nThis was much better. They pushed their way quickly toward the heart of\nthe city, and Sulpicius showed Faustina a rather wide street, which they\nwere nearing.\n\n\u201cLook, Faustina,\u201d he said, \u201cif we take this street, we will soon be\nthere. It leads directly down to our quarters.\u201d\n\nBut just as they were about to turn into the street, the worst obstacle\nmet them.\n\nIt happened that the very moment when Faustina reached the street which\nextended from the Governor\u2019s palace to Righteousness\u2019 Gate and Golgotha,\nthey brought through it a prisoner, who was to be taken out and\ncrucified. Before him ran a crowd of wild youths who wanted to witness\nthe execution. They raced up the street, waved their arms in rapture\ntowards the hill, and emitted unintelligible howls\u2014in their delight at\nbeing allowed to view something which they did not see every day.\n\nBehind them came companies of men in silken robes, who appeared to\nbelong to the city\u2019s \u00e9lite and foremost. Then came women, many of whom\nhad tear-stained faces. A gathering of poor and maimed staggered\nforward, uttering shrieks that pierced the ears.\n\n\u201cO God!\u201d they cried, \u201csave him! Send Thine angel and save him! Send a\ndeliverer in his direst need!\u201d\n\nFinally there came a few Roman soldiers on great horses. They kept guard\nso that none of the people could dash up to the prisoner and try to\nrescue him.\n\nDirectly behind them followed the executioners, whose task it was to\nlead forward the man that was to be crucified. They had laid a heavy\nwooden cross over his shoulder, but he was too weak for this burden. It\nweighed him down so that his body was almost bent to the ground. He held\nhis head down so far that no one could see his face.\n\nFaustina stood at the opening of the little bystreet and saw the doomed\nman\u2019s heavy tread. She noticed, with surprise, that he wore a purple\nmantle, and that a crown of thorns was pressed down upon his head.\n\n\u201cWho is this man?\u201d she asked.\n\nOne of the bystanders answered her: \u201cIt is one who wished to make\nhimself Emperor.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd must he suffer death for a thing which is scarcely worth striving\nafter?\u201d said the old woman sadly.\n\nThe doomed man staggered under the cross. He dragged himself forward\nmore and more slowly. The executioners had tied a rope around his waist,\nand they began to pull on it to hasten the speed. But as they pulled the\nrope the man fell, and lay there with the cross over him.\n\nThere was a terrible uproar. The Roman soldiers had all they could do to\nhold the crowds back. They drew their swords on a couple of women who\ntried to rush forward to help the fallen man. The executioners attempted\nto force him up with cuffs and lashes, but he could not move because of\nthe cross. Finally two of them took hold of the cross to remove it.\n\nThen he raised his head, and old Faustina could see his face. The cheeks\nwere streaked by lashes from a whip, and from his brow, which was\nwounded by the thorn-crown, trickled some drops of blood. His hair hung\nin knotted tangles, clotted with sweat and blood. His jaw was firm set,\nbut his lips trembled, as if they struggled to suppress a cry. His eyes,\ntear-filled and almost blinded from torture and fatigue, stared straight\nahead.\n\nBut back of this half-dead person\u2019s face, the old woman saw\u2014as in a\nvision\u2014a pale and beautiful One with glorious, majestic eyes and gentle\nfeatures, and she was seized with sudden grief\u2014touched by the unknown\nman\u2019s misfortune and degradation.\n\n\u201cOh, what have they done with you, you poor soul!\u201d she burst out, and\nmoved a step nearer him, while her eyes filled with tears. She forgot\nher own sorrow and anxiety for this tortured man\u2019s distress. She thought\nher heart would burst from pity. She, like the other women, wanted to\nrush forward and tear him away from the executioners!\n\nThe fallen man saw how she came toward him, and he crept closer to her.\nIt was as though he had expected to find protection with her against all\nthose who persecuted and tortured him. He embraced her knees. He pressed\nhimself against her, like a child who clings close to his mother for\nsafety.\n\nThe old woman bent over him, and as the tears streamed down her cheeks,\nshe felt the most blissful joy because he had come and sought protection\nwith her. She placed one arm around his neck, and as a mother first of\nall wipes away the tears from her child\u2019s eyes, she laid her kerchief of\nsheer fine linen over his face, to wipe away the tears and the blood.\n\nBut now the executioners were ready with the cross. They came now and\nsnatched away the prisoner. Impatient over the delay, they dragged him\noff in wild haste. The condemned man uttered a groan when he was led\naway from the refuge he had found, but he made no resistance.\n\nFaustina embraced him to hold him back, and when her feeble old hands\nwere powerless and she saw him borne away, she felt as if some one had\ntorn from her her own child, and she cried: \u201cNo, no! Do not take him\nfrom me! He must not die! He shall not die!\u201d\n\nShe felt the most intense grief and indignation because he was being led\naway. She wanted to rush after him. She wanted to fight with the\nexecutioners and tear him from them.\n\nBut with the first step she took, she was seized with weakness and\ndizziness. Sulpicius made haste to place his arm around her, to prevent\nher from falling.\n\nOn one side of the street he saw a little shop, and carried her in.\nThere was neither bench nor chair inside, but the shopkeeper was a\nkindly man. He helped her over to a rug, and arranged a bed for her on\nthe stone floor.\n\nShe was not unconscious, but such a great dizziness had seized her that\nshe could not sit up, but was forced to lie down.\n\n\u201cShe has made a long journey to-day, and the noise and crush in the city\nhave been too much for her,\u201d said Sulpicius to the merchant. \u201cShe is\nvery old, and no one is so strong as not to be conquered by age.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a trying day, even for one who is not old,\u201d said the merchant.\n\u201cThe air is almost too heavy to breathe. It would not surprise me if a\nsevere storm were in store for us.\u201d\n\nSulpicius bent over the old woman. She had fallen asleep, and she slept\nwith calm, regular respirations after all the excitement and fatigue.\n\nHe walked over to the shop door, stood there, and looked at the crowds\nwhile he awaited her waking.\n\n                                  VII\n\nThe Roman governor at Jerusalem had a young wife, and she had had a\ndream during the night preceding the day when Faustina entered the city.\n\nShe dreamed that she stood on the roof of her house and looked down upon\nthe beautiful court, which, according to the Oriental custom, was paved\nwith marble, and planted with rare growths.\n\nBut in the court she saw assembled all the sick and blind and halt there\nwere in the world. She saw before her the pest-ridden, with bodies\nswollen with boils; lepers with disfigured faces; the paralytics, who\ncould not move, but lay helpless upon the ground, and all the wretched\ncreatures who writhed in torment and pain.\n\nThey all crowded up towards the entrance, to get into the house; and a\nnumber of those who walked foremost pounded on the palace door.\n\nAt last she saw that a slave opened the door and came out on the\nthreshold, and she heard him ask what they wanted.\n\nThen they answered him, saying: \u201cWe seek the great Prophet whom God hath\nsent to the world. Where is the Prophet of Nazareth, he who is master of\nall suffering? Where is he who can deliver us from all our torment?\u201d\n\nThen the slave answered them in an arrogant and indifferent tone\u2014as\npalace servants do when they turn away the poor stranger:\n\n\u201cIt will profit you nothing to seek the great Prophet. Pilate has killed\nhim.\u201d\n\nThen there arose among all the sick a grief and a moaning and a gnashing\nof teeth which she could not bear to hear. Her heart was wrung with\ncompassion, and tears streamed from her eyes. But when she had begun to\nweep, she awakened.\n\nAgain she fell asleep; and again she dreamed that she stood on the roof\nof her house and looked down upon the big court, which was as broad as a\nsquare.\n\nAnd behold! the court was filled with all the insane and soul-sick and\nthose possessed of evil spirits. And she saw those who were naked and\nthose who were covered with their long hair, and those who had braided\nthemselves crowns of straw and mantles of grass and believed they were\nkings, and those who crawled on the ground and thought themselves\nbeasts, and those who came dragging heavy stones, which they believed to\nbe gold, and those who thought that the evil spirits spoke through their\nmouths.\n\nShe saw all these crowd up toward the palace gate. And the ones who\nstood nearest to it knocked and pounded to get in.\n\nAt last the door opened, and a slave stepped out on the threshold and\nasked: \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d\n\nThen all began to cry aloud, saying: \u201cWhere is the great Prophet of\nNazareth, he who was sent of God, and who shall restore to us our souls\nand our wits?\u201d\n\nShe heard the slave answer them in the most indifferent tone: \u201cIt is\nuseless for you to seek the great Prophet, Pilate has killed him.\u201d\n\nWhen this was said, they uttered a shriek as wild as a beast\u2019s howl, and\nin their despair they began to lacerate themselves until the blood ran\ndown on the stones. And when she that dreamed saw their distress, she\nwrung her hands and moaned. And her own moans awakened her.\n\nBut again she fell asleep, and again, in her dream, she was on the roof\nof her house. Round about her sat her slaves, who played for her upon\ncymbals and zithers, and the almond trees shook their white blossoms\nover her, and clambering rose-vines exhaled their perfume.\n\nAs she sat there, a voice spoke to her: \u201cGo over to the balustrade which\nincloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in your\ncourt!\u201d\n\nBut in the dream she declined, and said: \u201cI do not care to see any more\nof those who throng my court to-night.\u201d\n\nJust then she heard a clanking of chains and a pounding of heavy\nhammers, and the pounding of wood against wood. Her slaves ceased their\nsinging and playing and hurried over to the railing and looked down. Nor\ncould she herself remain seated, but walked thither and looked down on\nthe court.\n\nThen she saw that the court was filled with all the poor prisoners in\nthe world. She saw those who must lie in dark prison dungeons, fettered\nwith heavy chains; she saw those who labored in the dark mines come\ndragging their heavy planks, and those who were rowers on war galleys\ncome with their heavy iron-bound oars. And those who were condemned to\nbe crucified came dragging their crosses, and those who were to be\nbeheaded came with their broadaxes. She saw those who were sent into\nslavery to foreign lands and whose eyes burned with homesickness. She\nsaw those who must serve as beasts of burden, and whose backs were\nbleeding from lashes.\n\nAll these unfortunates cried as with one voice: \u201cOpen, open!\u201d\n\nThen the slave who guarded the entrance stepped to the door and asked:\n\u201cWhat is it that you wish?\u201d\n\nAnd these answered like the others: \u201cWe seek the great Prophet of\nNazareth, who has come to the world to give the prisoners their freedom\nand the slaves their lost happiness.\u201d\n\nThe slave answered them in a tired and indifferent tone: \u201cYou can not\nfind him here. Pilate has killed him.\u201d\n\nWhen this was said, she who dreamed thought that among all the unhappy\nthere arose such an outburst of scorn and blasphemy that heaven and\nearth trembled. She was ice-cold with fright, and her body shook so that\nshe awaked.\n\nWhen she was thoroughly awake, she sat up in bed and thought to herself:\n\u201cI would not dream more. Now I want to remain awake all night, that I\nmay escape seeing more of this horror.\u201d\n\nAnd even whilst she was thinking thus, drowsiness crept in upon her\nanew, and she laid her head on the pillow and fell asleep.\n\nAgain she dreamed that she sat on the roof of her house, and now her\nlittle son ran back and forth up there, and played with a ball.\n\nThen she heard a voice that said to her: \u201cGo over to the balustrade,\nwhich incloses the roof, and see who they are that stand and wait in\nyour court!\u201d But she who dreamed said to herself: \u201cI have seen enough\nmisery this night. I can not endure any more. I would remain where I\nam.\u201d\n\nAt that moment her son threw his ball so that it dropped outside the\nbalustrade, and the child ran forward and clambered up on the railing.\nThen she was frightened. She rushed over and seized hold of the child.\n\nBut with that she happened to cast her eyes downward, and once more she\nsaw that the court was full of people.\n\nIn the court were all the peoples of earth who had been wounded in\nbattle. They came with severed bodies, with cut-off limbs, and with big\nopen wounds from which the blood oozed, so that the whole court was\ndrenched with it.\n\nAnd beside these, came all the people in the world who had lost their\nloved ones on the battlefield. They were the fatherless who mourned\ntheir protectors, and the young maidens who cried for their lovers, and\nthe aged who sighed for their sons.\n\nThe foremost among them pushed against the door, and the watchman came\nout as before, and opened it.\n\nHe asked all these, who had been wounded in battles and skirmishes:\n\u201cWhat seek ye in this house?\u201d\n\nAnd they answered: \u201cWe seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who shall\nprohibit wars and rumors of wars and bring peace to the earth. We seek\nhim who shall convert spears into scythes and swords into pruning\nhooks.\u201d\n\nThen answered the slave somewhat impatiently: \u201cLet no more come to\npester me! I have already said it often enough. The great Prophet is not\nhere. Pilate has killed him.\u201d\n\nThereupon he closed the gate. But she who dreamed thought of all the\nlamentation which would come now. \u201cI do not wish to hear it,\u201d said she,\nand rushed away from the balustrade. That instant she awoke. Then she\ndiscovered that in her terror she had jumped out of her bed and down on\nthe cold stone floor.\n\nAgain she thought she did not want to sleep more that night, and again\nsleep overpowered her, and she closed her eyes and began to dream.\n\nShe sat once more on the roof of her house, and beside her stood her\nhusband. She told him of her dreams, and he ridiculed her.\n\nAgain she heard a voice, which said to her: \u201cGo see the people who wait\nin your court!\u201d\n\nBut she thought: \u201cI would not see them. I have seen enough misery\nto-night.\u201d\n\nJust then she heard three loud raps on the gate, and her husband walked\nover to the balustrade to see who it was that asked admittance to his\nhouse.\n\nBut no sooner had he leaned over the railing, than he beckoned to his\nwife to come over to him.\n\n\u201cKnow you not this man?\u201d said he, and pointed down.\n\nWhen she looked down on the court, she found that it was filled with\nhorses and riders, slaves were busy unloading asses and camels. It\nlooked as though a distinguished traveler might have landed.\n\nAt the entrance gate stood the traveler. He was a large elderly man with\nbroad shoulders and a heavy and gloomy appearance.\n\nThe dreamer recognized the stranger instantly, and whispered to her\nhusband: \u201cIt is C\u00e6sar Tiberius, who is here in Jerusalem. It can not be\nany one else.\u201d\n\n\u201cI also seem to recognize him,\u201d said her husband; at the same time he\nplaced his finger on his mouth, as a signal that they should be quiet\nand listen to what was said down in the court.\n\nThey saw that the doorkeeper came out and asked the stranger: \u201cWhom seek\nyou?\u201d\n\nAnd the traveler answered: \u201cI seek the great Prophet of Nazareth, who is\nendowed with God\u2019s power to perform miracles. It is Emperor Tiberius who\ncalls him, that he may liberate him from a terrible disease, which no\nother physician can cure.\u201d\n\nWhen he had spoken, the slave bowed very humbly and said: \u201cMy lord, be\nnot wroth! but your wish can not be fulfilled.\u201d\n\nThen the Emperor turned toward his slaves, who waited below in the\ncourt, and gave them a command.\n\nThen the slaves hastened forward\u2014some with handfuls of ornaments,\nothers carried goblets studded with pearls, other again dragged sacks\nfilled with gold coin.\n\nThe Emperor turned to the slave who guarded the gate, and said: \u201cAll\nthis shall be his, if he helps Tiberius. With this he can give riches to\nall the world\u2019s poor.\u201d\n\nBut the doorkeeper bowed still lower and said: \u201cMaster, be not wroth\nwith thy servant, but thy request can not be fulfilled.\u201d\n\nThen the Emperor beckoned again to his slaves, and a pair of them\nhurried forward with a richly embroidered robe, upon which glittered a\nbreastpiece of jewels.\n\nAnd the Emperor said to the slave: \u201cSee! This which I offer him is the\npower over Judea. He shall rule his people like the highest judge, if he\nwill only come and heal Tiberius!\u201d\n\nThe slave bowed still nearer the earth, and said: \u201cMaster, it is not\nwithin my power to help you.\u201d\n\nThen the Emperor beckoned once again, and his slaves rushed up with a\ngolden coronet and a purple mantle.\n\n\u201cSee,\u201d he said, \u201cthis is the Emperor\u2019s will: He promises to appoint the\nProphet his successor, and give him dominion over the world. He shall\nhave power to rule the world according to his God\u2019s will, if he will\nonly stretch forth his hand and heal Tiberius!\u201d\n\nThen the slave fell at the Emperor\u2019s feet and said in an imploring tone:\n\u201cMaster, it does not lie in my power to attend to thy command. He whom\nthou seekest is no longer here. Pilate hath killed him.\u201d\n\n                                  VIII\n\nWhen the young woman awoke, it was already full, clear day, and her\nfemale slaves stood and waited that they might help her dress.\n\nShe was very silent while she dressed, but finally she asked the slave\nwho arranged her hair, if her husband was up. She learned that he had\nbeen called out to pass judgment on a criminal. \u201cI should have liked to\ntalk with him,\u201d said the young woman.\n\n\u201cMistress,\u201d said the slave, \u201cit will be difficult to do so during the\ntrial. We will let you know as soon as it is over.\u201d\n\nShe sat silent now until her toilet was completed. Then she asked: \u201cHas\nany among you heard of the Prophet of Nazareth?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Prophet of Nazareth is a Jewish miracle performer,\u201d answered one of\nthe slaves instantly.\n\n\u201cIt is strange, Mistress, that you should ask after him to-day,\u201d said\nanother slave. \u201cIt is just he whom the Jews have brought here to the\npalace, to let him be tried by the Governor.\u201d\n\nShe bade them go at once and ascertain for what cause he was arraigned,\nand one of the slaves withdrew. When she returned she said: \u201cThey accuse\nhim of wanting to make himself King over this land, and they entreat the\nGovernor to let him be crucified.\u201d\n\nWhen the Governor\u2019s wife heard this, she grew terrified and said: \u201cI\nmust speak with my husband, otherwise a terrible calamity will happen\nhere this day.\u201d\n\nWhen the slaves said once again that this was impossible, she began to\nweep and shudder. And one among them was touched, so she said: \u201cIf you\nwill send a written message to the Governor, I will try and take it to\nhim.\u201d\n\nImmediately she took a stylus and wrote a few words on a wax tablet, and\nthis was given to Pilate.\n\nBut him she did not meet alone the whole day; for when he had dismissed\nthe Jews, and the condemned man was taken to the place of execution, the\nhour for repast was come, and to this Pilate had invited a few of the\nRomans who visited Jerusalem at this season. They were the commander of\nthe troops and a young instructor in oratory, and several others\nbesides.\n\nThis repast was not very gay, for the Governor\u2019s wife sat all the while\nsilent and dejected, and took no part in the conversation.\n\nWhen the guests asked if she was ill or distraught, the Governor\nlaughingly related about the message she had sent him in the morning. He\nchaffed her because she had believed that a Roman governor would let\nhimself be guided in his judgments by a woman\u2019s dreams.\n\nShe answered gently and sadly: \u201cIn truth, it was no dream, but a warning\nsent by the gods. You should at least have let the man live through this\none day.\u201d\n\nThey saw that she was seriously distressed. She would not be comforted,\nno matter how much the guests exerted themselves, by keeping up the\nconversation to make her forget these empty fancies.\n\nBut after a while one of them raised his head and exclaimed: \u201cWhat is\nthis? Have we sat so long at table that the day is already gone?\u201d\n\nAll looked up now, and they observed that a dim twilight settled down\nover nature. Above all, it was remarkable to see how the whole\nvariegated play of color which it spread over all creatures and objects,\nfaded away slowly, so that all looked a uniform gray.\n\nLike everything else, even their own faces lost their color. \u201cWe\nactually look like the dead,\u201d said the young orator with a shudder. \u201cOur\ncheeks are gray and our lips black.\u201d\n\nAs this darkness grew more intense, the woman\u2019s fear increased. \u201cOh, my\nfriend!\u201d she burst out at last. \u201cCan\u2019t you perceive even now that the\nImmortals would warn you? They are incensed because you condemned a holy\nand innocent man. I am thinking that although he may already be on the\ncross, he is surely not dead yet. Let him be taken down from the cross!\nI would with mine own hands nurse his wounds. Only grant that he be\ncalled back to life!\u201d\n\nBut Pilate answered laughingly: \u201cYou are surely right in that this is a\nsign from the gods. But they do not let the sun lose its luster because\na Jewish heretic has been condemned to the cross. On the contrary, we\nmay expect that important matters shall appear, which concern the whole\nkingdom. Who can tell how long old Tiberius\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\nHe did not finish the sentence, for the darkness had become so profound\nhe could not see even the wine goblet standing in front of him. He broke\noff, therefore, to order the slaves to fetch some lamps instantly.\n\nWhen it had become so light that he could see the faces of his guests,\nit was impossible for him not to notice the depression which had come\nover them. \u201cMark you!\u201d he said half-angrily to his wife. \u201cNow it is\napparent to me that you have succeeded with your dreams in driving away\nthe joys of the table. But if it must needs be that you can not think of\nanything else to-day, then let us hear what you have dreamed. Tell it us\nand we will try to interpret its meaning!\u201d\n\nFor this the young wife was ready at once. And while she related vision\nafter vision, the guests grew more and more serious. They ceased\nemptying their goblets, and they sat with brows knit. The only one who\ncontinued to laugh and to call the whole thing madness, was the Governor\nhimself.\n\nWhen the narrative was ended, the young rhetorician said: \u201cTruly, this\nis something more than a dream, for I have seen this day not the\nEmperor, but his old friend Faustina, march into the city. Only it\nsurprises me that she has not already appeared in the Governor\u2019s\npalace.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is actually a rumor abroad to the effect that the Emperor has\nbeen stricken with a terrible illness,\u201d observed the leader of the\ntroops. \u201cIt also seems very possible to me that your wife\u2019s dream may be\na god-sent warning.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s nothing incredible in this, that Tiberius has sent messengers\nafter the Prophet to summon him to his sick-bed,\u201d agreed the young\nrhetorician.\n\nThe Commander turned with profound seriousness toward Pilate. \u201cIf the\nEmperor has actually taken it into his head to let this miracle-worker\nbe summoned, it were better for you and for all of us that he found him\nalive.\u201d\n\nPilate answered irritably: \u201cIs it the darkness that has turned you into\nchildren? One would think that you had all been transformed into\ndream-interpreters and prophets.\u201d\n\nBut the courtier continued his argument: \u201cIt may not be impossible,\nperhaps, to save the man\u2019s life, if you sent a swift messenger.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou want to make a laughing-stock of me,\u201d answered the Governor. \u201cTell\nme, what would become of law and order in this land, if they learned\nthat the Governor pardoned a criminal because his wife has dreamed a bad\ndream?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the truth, however, and not a dream, that I have seen Faustina in\nJerusalem,\u201d said the young orator.\n\n\u201cI shall take the responsibility of defending my actions before the\nEmperor,\u201d said Pilate. \u201cHe will understand that this visionary, who let\nhimself be misused by my soldiers without resistance, would not have had\nthe power to help him.\u201d\n\nAs he was speaking, the house was shaken by a noise like a powerful\nrolling thunder, and an earthquake shook the ground. The Governor\u2019s\npalace stood intact, but during some minutes just after the earthquake,\na terrific crash of crumbling houses and falling pillars was heard.\n\nAs soon as a human voice could make itself heard, the Governor called a\nslave.\n\n\u201cRun out to the place of execution and command in my name that the\nProphet of Nazareth shall be taken down from the cross!\u201d\n\nThe slave hurried away. The guests filed from the dining-hall out on the\nperistyle, to be under the open sky in case the earthquake should be\nrepeated. No one dared to utter a word, while they awaited the slave\u2019s\nreturn.\n\nHe came back very shortly. He stopped before the Governor.\n\n\u201cYou found him alive?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cMaster, he was dead, and on the very second that he gave up the ghost,\nthe earthquake occurred.\u201d\n\nThe words were hardly spoken when two loud knocks sounded against the\nouter gate. When these knocks were heard, they all staggered back and\nleaped up, as though it had been a new earthquake.\n\nImmediately afterwards a slave came up.\n\n\u201cIt is the noble Faustina and the Emperor\u2019s kinsman Sulpicius. They are\ncome to beg you help them find the Prophet from Nazareth.\u201d\n\nA low murmur passed through the peristyle, and soft footfalls were\nheard. When the Governor looked around, he noticed that his friends had\nwithdrawn from him, as from one upon whom misfortune has fallen.\n\n                                   IX\n\nOld Faustina had returned to Capri and had sought out the Emperor. She\ntold him her story, and while she spoke she hardly dared look at him.\nDuring her absence the illness had made frightful ravages, and she\nthought to herself: \u201cIf there had been any pity among the Celestials,\nthey would have let me die before being forced to tell this poor,\ntortured man that all hope is gone.\u201d\n\nTo her astonishment, Tiberius listened to her with the utmost\nindifference. When she related how the great miracle performer had been\ncrucified the same day that she had arrived in Jerusalem, and how near\nshe had been to saving him, she began to weep under the weight of her\nfailure. But Tiberius only remarked: \u201cYou actually grieve over this? Ah,\nFaustina! A whole lifetime in Rome has not weaned you then of faith in\nsorcerers and miracle workers, which you imbibed during your childhood\nin the Sabine mountains!\u201d\n\nThen the old woman perceived that Tiberius had never expected any help\nfrom the Prophet of Nazareth.\n\n\u201cWhy did you let me make the journey to that distant land, if you\nbelieved all the while that it was useless?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are the only friend I have,\u201d said the Emperor. \u201cWhy should I deny\nyour prayer, so long as I still have the power to grant it.\u201d\n\nBut the old woman did not like it that the Emperor had taken her for a\nfool.\n\n\u201cAh! this is your usual cunning,\u201d she burst out. \u201cThis is just what I\ncan tolerate least in you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou should not have come back to me,\u201d said Tiberius. \u201cYou should have\nremained in the mountains.\u201d\n\nIt looked for a moment as if these two, who had clashed so often, would\nagain fall into a war of words, but the old woman\u2019s anger subsided\nimmediately. The times were past when she could quarrel in earnest with\nthe Emperor. She lowered her voice again; but she could not altogether\nrelinquish every effort to obtain justice.\n\n\u201cBut this man was really a prophet,\u201d she said. \u201cI have seen him. When\nhis eyes met mine, I thought he was a god. I was mad to allow him to go\nto his death.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am glad you let him die,\u201d said Tiberius. \u201cHe was a traitor and a\ndangerous agitator.\u201d\n\nFaustina was about to burst into another passion\u2014then checked herself.\n\n\u201cI have spoken with many of his friends in Jerusalem about him,\u201d said\nshe. \u201cHe had not committed the crimes for which he was arraigned.\u201d\n\n\u201cEven if he had not committed just these crimes, he was surely no better\nthan any one else,\u201d said the Emperor wearily. \u201cWhere will you find the\nperson who during his lifetime has not a thousand times deserved death?\u201d\n\nBut these remarks of the Emperor decided Faustina to undertake something\nwhich she had until now hesitated about. \u201cI will show you a proof of his\npower,\u201d said she. \u201cI said to you just now that I laid my kerchief over\nhis face. It is the same kerchief which I hold in my hand. Will you look\nat it a moment?\u201d\n\nShe spread the kerchief out before the Emperor, and he saw delineated\nthereon the shadowy likeness of a human face.\n\nThe old woman\u2019s voice shook with emotion as she continued: \u201cThis man saw\nthat I loved him. I know not by what power he was enabled to leave me\nhis portrait. But mine eyes fill up with tears when I see it.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor leaned forward and regarded the picture, which appeared to\nbe made up of blood and tears and the dark shadows of grief. Gradually\nthe whole face stood out before him, exactly as it had been imprinted\nupon the kerchief. He saw the blood-drops on the forehead, the piercing\nthorn-crown, the hair, which was matted with blood, and the mouth whose\nlips seemed to quiver with agony.\n\nHe bent down closer and closer to the picture. The face stood out\nclearer and clearer. From out the shadow-like outlines, all at once, he\nsaw the eyes sparkle as with hidden life. And while they spoke to him of\nthe most terrible suffering, they also revealed a purity and sublimity\nwhich he had never seen before.\n\nHe lay upon his couch and drank in the picture with his eyes. \u201cIs this a\nmortal?\u201d he said softly and slowly. \u201cIs this a mortal?\u201d\n\nAgain he lay still and regarded the picture. The tears began to stream\ndown his cheeks. \u201cI mourn over thy death, thou Unknown!\u201d he whispered.\n\n\u201cFaustina!\u201d he cried out at last. \u201cWhy did you let this man die? He\nwould have healed me.\u201d\n\nAnd again he was lost in the picture.\n\n\u201cO Man!\u201d he said, after a moment, \u201cif I can not gain my health from\nthee, I can still avenge thy murder. My hand shall rest heavily upon\nthose who have robbed me of thee!\u201d\n\nAgain he lay still a long time; then he let himself glide down to the\nfloor\u2014and he knelt before the picture:\n\n\u201cThou art Man!\u201d said he. \u201cThou art that which I never dreamed I should\nsee.\u201d And he pointed to his disfigured face and destroyed hands. \u201cI and\nall others are wild beasts and monsters, but thou art Man.\u201d\n\nHe bowed his head so low before the picture that it touched the floor.\n\u201cHave pity on me, thou Unknown!\u201d he sobbed, and his tears watered the\nstones.\n\n\u201cIf thou hadst lived, thy glance alone would have healed me,\u201d he said.\n\nThe poor old woman was terror-stricken over what she had done. It would\nhave been wiser not to show the Emperor the picture, thought she. From\nthe start she had been afraid that if he should see it his grief would\nbe too overwhelming.\n\nAnd in her despair over the Emperor\u2019s grief, she snatched the picture\naway, as if to remove it from his sight.\n\nThen the Emperor looked up. And, lo! his features were transformed, and\nhe was as he had been before the illness. It was as if the illness had\nhad its root and sustenance in the contempt and hatred of mankind which\nhad lived in his heart; and it had been forced to flee the very moment\nhe had felt love and compassion.\n\nThe following day Tiberius despatched three messengers.\n\nThe first messenger traveled to Rome with the command that the Senate\nshould institute investigations as to how the governor of Palestine\nadministered his official duties and punish him, should it appear that\nhe oppressed the people and condemned the innocent to death.\n\nThe second messenger went to the vineyard-laborer and his wife, to thank\nthem and reward them for the counsel they had given the Emperor, and\nalso to tell them how everything had turned out. When they had heard\nall, they wept silently, and the man said: \u201cI know that all my life I\nshall ponder what would have happened if these two had met.\u201d But the\nwoman answered: \u201cIt could not happen in any other way. It was too great\na thought that these two should meet. God knew that the world could not\nsupport it.\u201d\n\nThe third messenger traveled to Palestine and brought back with him to\nCapri some of Jesus\u2019 disciples, and these began to teach there the\ndoctrine that had been preached by the Crucified One.\n\nWhen the disciples landed at Capri, old Faustina lay upon her death-bed.\nStill they had time before her death to make of her a follower of the\ngreat Prophet, and to baptize her. And in the baptism she was called\nVeronica, because to her it had been granted to give to mankind the true\nlikeness of their Saviour.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: Robin Redbreast]\n\n                            ROBIN REDBREAST\n\n\nIt happened at the time when our Lord created the world, when He not\nonly made heaven and earth, but all the animals and the plants as well,\nat the same time giving them their names.\n\nThere have been many histories concerning that time, and if we knew them\nall, we should have light upon everything in this world which we can not\nnow comprehend.\n\nAt that time it happened one day when our Lord sat in His Paradise and\npainted the little birds, that the colors in our Lord\u2019s paint pot gave\nout, and the goldfinch would have been without color if our Lord had not\nwiped all His paint brushes on its feathers.\n\nIt was then that the donkey got his long ears, because he could not\nremember the name that had been given him.\n\nNo sooner had he taken a few steps over the meadows of Paradise than he\nforgot, and three times he came back to ask his name. At last our Lord\ngrew somewhat impatient, took him by his two ears, and said:\n\n\u201cThy name is ass, ass, ass!\u201d And while He thus spake our Lord pulled\nboth of his ears that the ass might hear better, and remember what was\nsaid to him. It was on the same day, also, that the bee was punished.\n\nNow, when the bee was created, she began immediately to gather honey,\nand the animals and human beings who caught the delicious odor of the\nhoney came and wanted to taste of it. But the bee wanted to keep it all\nfor herself and with her poisonous sting pursued every living creature\nthat approached her hive. Our Lord saw this and at once called the bee\nto Him and punished her.\n\n\u201cI gave thee the gift of gathering honey, which is the sweetest thing in\nall creation,\u201d said our Lord, \u201cbut I did not give thee the right to be\ncruel to thy neighbor. Remember well that every time thou stingest any\ncreature who desires to taste of thy honey, thou shalt surely die!\u201d\n\nAh, yes! It was at that time, too, that the cricket became blind and the\nant missed her wings, so many strange things happened on that day!\n\nOur Lord sat there, big and gentle, and planned and created all day\nlong, and towards evening He conceived the idea of making a little gray\nbird. \u201cRemember your name is Robin Redbreast,\u201d said our Lord to the\nbird, as soon as it was finished. Then He held it in the palm of His\nopen hand and let it fly.\n\nAfter the bird had been testing his wings a while, and had seen\nsomething of the beautiful world in which he was destined to live, he\nbecame curious to see what he himself was like. He noticed that he was\nentirely gray, and that his breast was just as gray as all the rest of\nhim. Robin Redbreast twisted and turned in all directions as he viewed\nhimself in the mirror of a clear lake, but he couldn\u2019t find a single red\nfeather. Then he flew back to our Lord.\n\nOur Lord sat there on His throne, big and gentle. Out of His hands came\nbutterflies that fluttered about His head; doves cooed on His shoulders;\nand out of the earth beneath Him grew the rose, the lily, and the daisy.\n\nThe little bird\u2019s heart beat heavily with fright, but with easy curves\nhe flew nearer and nearer our Lord, till at last he rested on our Lord\u2019s\nhand. Then our Lord asked what the little bird wanted. \u201cI only wish to\nask you about one thing,\u201d said the little bird. \u201cWhat is it you wish to\nknow?\u201d said our Lord. \u201cWhy should I be called Red Breast, when I am all\ngray, from the bill to the very end of my tail? Why am I called Red\nBreast when I do not possess one single red feather?\u201d The bird looked\nbeseechingly on our Lord with his tiny black eyes\u2014then turned his head.\nAbout him he saw pheasants all red under a sprinkle of gold dust,\nparrots with marvelous red neck-bands, cocks with red combs, to say\nnothing about the butterflies, the goldfinches, and the roses! And\nnaturally he thought how little he needed\u2014just one tiny drop of color\non his breast and he, too, would be a beautiful bird, and his name would\nfit him. \u201cWhy should I be called Red Breast when I am so entirely gray?\u201d\nasked the bird once again, and waited for our Lord to say: \u201cAh, my\nfriend, I see that I have forgotten to paint your breast feathers red,\nbut wait a moment and it shall be done.\u201d\n\nBut our Lord only smiled a little and said: \u201cI have called you Robin\nRedbreast, and Robin Redbreast shall your name be, but you must look to\nit that you yourself earn your red breast feathers.\u201d Then our Lord\nlifted His hand and let the bird fly once more\u2014out into the world.\n\nThe bird flew down into Paradise, meditating deeply.\n\nWhat could a little bird like him do to earn for himself red feathers?\nThe only thing he could think of was to make his nest in a brier bush.\nHe built it in among the thorns in the close thicket. It looked as if he\nwaited for a rose leaf to cling to his throat and give him color.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nCountless years had come and gone since that day, which was the happiest\nin all the world! Human beings had already advanced so far that they had\nlearned to cultivate the earth and sail the seas. They had procured\nclothes and ornaments for themselves, and had long since learned to\nbuild big temples and great cities\u2014such as Thebes, Rome, and Jerusalem.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nThen there dawned a _new_ day, one that will long be remembered in the\nworld\u2019s history. On the morning of this day Robin Redbreast sat upon a\nlittle naked hillock outside of Jerusalem\u2019s walls, and sang to his young\nones, who rested in a tiny nest in a brier bush.\n\nRobin Redbreast told the little ones all about that wonderful day of\ncreation, and how the Lord had given names to everything, just as each\nRedbreast had told it ever since the first Redbreast had heard God\u2019s\nword, and gone out of God\u2019s hand. \u201cAnd mark you,\u201d he ended sorrowfully,\n\u201cso many years have gone, so many roses have bloomed, so many little\nbirds have come out of their eggs since Creation Day, but Robin\nRedbreast is still a little gray bird. He has not yet succeeded in\ngaining his red feathers.\u201d\n\nThe little young ones opened wide their tiny bills, and asked if their\nforbears had never tried to do any great thing to earn the priceless red\ncolor.\n\n\u201cWe have all done what we could,\u201d said the little bird, \u201cbut we have all\ngone amiss. Even the first Robin Redbreast met one day another bird\nexactly like himself, and he began immediately to love it with such a\nmighty love that he could feel his breast burn. \u2018Ah!\u2019 he thought then,\n\u2018now I understand! It was our Lord\u2019s meaning that I should love with so\nmuch ardor that my breast should grow red in color from the very warmth\nof the love that lives in my heart.\u2019 But he missed it, as all those who\ncame after him have missed it, and as even you shall miss it.\u201d\n\nThe little young ones twittered, utterly bewildered, and already began\nto mourn because the red color would not come to beautify their little,\ndowny gray breasts.\n\n\u201cWe had also hoped that song would help us,\u201d said the grown-up bird,\nspeaking in long-drawn-out tones\u2014\u201cthe first Robin Redbreast sang until\nhis heart swelled within him, he was so carried away, and he dared to\nhope anew. \u2018Ah!\u2019 he thought, \u2018it is the glow of the song which lives in\nmy soul that will color my breast feathers red.\u2019 But he missed it, as\nall the others have missed it and as even you shall miss it.\u201d Again was\nheard a sad \u201cpeep\u201d from the young ones\u2019 half-naked throats.\n\n\u201cWe had also counted on our courage and our valor,\u201d said the bird. \u201cThe\nfirst Robin Redbreast fought bravely with other birds, until his breast\nflamed with the pride of conquest. \u2018Ah!\u2019 he thought, \u2018my breast feathers\nshall become red from the love of battle which burns in my heart.\u2019 He,\ntoo, missed it, as all those who came after him have missed it, and as\neven you shall miss it.\u201d The little young ones peeped courageously that\nthey still wished to try and win the much-sought-for prize, but the bird\nanswered them sorrowfully that it would be impossible. What could they\ndo when so many splendid ancestors had missed the mark? What could they\ndo more than love, sing, and fight? What could\u2014the little bird stopped\nshort, for out of one of the gates of Jerusalem came a crowd of people\nmarching, and the whole procession rushed toward the hillock, where the\nbird had its nest. There were riders on proud horses, soldiers with long\nspears, executioners with nails and hammers. There were judges and\npriests in the procession, weeping women, and above all a mob of mad,\nloose people running about\u2014a filthy, howling mob of loiterers.\n\nThe little gray bird sat trembling on the edge of his nest. He feared\neach instant that the little brier bush would be trampled down and his\nyoung ones killed!\n\n\u201cBe careful!\u201d he cried to the little defenseless young ones, \u201ccreep\ntogether and remain quiet. Here comes a horse that will ride right over\nus! Here comes a warrior with iron-shod sandals! Here comes the whole\nwild, storming mob!\u201d Immediately the bird ceased his cry of warning and\ngrew calm and quiet. He almost forgot the danger hovering over him.\nFinally he hopped down into the nest and spread his wings over the young\nones.\n\n\u201cOh! this is too terrible,\u201d said he. \u201cI don\u2019t wish you to witness this\nawful sight! There are three miscreants who are going to be crucified!\u201d\nAnd he spread his wings so that the little ones could see nothing.\n\nThey caught only the sound of hammers, the cries of anguish, and the\nwild shrieks of the mob.\n\nRobin Redbreast followed the whole spectacle with his eyes, which grew\nbig with terror. He could not take his glance from the three\nunfortunates.\n\n\u201cHow terrible human beings are!\u201d said the bird after a little while. \u201cIt\nisn\u2019t enough that they nail these poor creatures to a cross, but they\nmust needs place a crown of piercing thorns upon the head of one of\nthem. I see that the thorns have wounded his brow so that the blood\nflows,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd this man is so beautiful, and looks about him\nwith such mild glances that every one ought to love him. I feel as if an\narrow were shooting through my heart, when I see him suffer!\u201d\n\nThe little bird began to feel a stronger and stronger pity for the\nthorn-crowned sufferer. \u201cOh! if I were only my brother the eagle,\u201d\nthought he, \u201cI would draw the nails from his hands, and with my strong\nclaws I would drive away all those who torture him!\u201d He saw how the\nblood trickled down from the brow of the Crucified One, and he could no\nlonger remain quiet in his nest. \u201cEven if I am little and weak, I can\nstill do something for this poor tortured one,\u201d thought the bird. Then\nhe left his nest and flew out into the air, striking wide circles around\nthe Crucified One. He flew around him several times without daring to\napproach, for he was a shy little bird, who had never dared to go near a\nhuman being. But little by little he gained courage, flew close to him,\nand drew with his little bill a thorn that had become imbedded in the\nbrow of the Crucified One. And as he did this there fell on his breast a\ndrop of blood from the face of the Crucified One;\u2014it spread quickly and\nfloated out and colored all the little fine breast feathers.\n\nThen the Crucified One opened his lips and whispered to the bird:\n\u201cBecause of thy compassion, thou hast won all that thy kind have been\nstriving after, ever since the world was created.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the bird had returned to his nest his young ones cried to\nhim: \u201cThy breast is red! Thy breast feathers are redder than the roses!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is only a drop of blood from the poor man\u2019s forehead,\u201d said the\nbird; \u201cit will vanish as soon as I bathe in a pool or a clear well.\u201d\n\nBut no matter how much the little bird bathed, the red color did not\nvanish\u2014and when his little young ones grew up, the blood-red color\nshone also on their breast feathers, just as it shines on every Robin\nRedbreast\u2019s throat and breast until this very day.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: Our Lord and Saint Peter]\n\n                        OUR LORD AND SAINT PETER\n\n\nIt happened at the time when our Lord and Saint Peter were newly arrived\nin Paradise, after having wandered on earth and suffered hardships\nduring many sorrowful years.\n\nOne can imagine that the change was a joy to Saint Peter! One can\npicture to oneself that it was quite another matter to sit upon Paradise\nMountain and look out over the world, instead of wandering from door to\ndoor, like a beggar. It was another matter to walk about in the\nbeautiful gardens of Paradise, instead of roaming around on earth, not\nknowing if one would be given house-room on a stormy night, or if one\nwould be forced to tramp the highway in the chill and darkness.\n\nOne can imagine what a joy it must have been to get to the right place\nat last after such a journey. Saint Peter, to be sure, had not always\nbeen certain that all would end well. He couldn\u2019t very well help feeling\ndoubtful and troubled at times, for it had been almost impossible for\npoor Saint Peter to understand why there was any earthly need for them\nto have such a hard time of it, if our Lord was lord of all the world.\n\nNow, no yearning could come to torment him any more. That he was glad of\nthis one can well believe.\n\nNow, he could actually laugh at all the misery which he and our Lord had\nbeen forced to endure, and at the little that they had been obliged to\ncontent themselves with.\n\nOnce, when things had turned out so badly for them that Saint Peter\nthought he couldn\u2019t stand it any longer, our Lord had taken him to a\nhigh mountain, and had begun the ascent without telling him what they\nwere there for.\n\nThey had wandered past the cities at the foot of the mountain, and the\ncastles higher up. They had gone past the farms and cabins, and had left\nbehind them the last wood-chopper\u2019s cave.\n\nThey had come at last to the part where the mountain stood naked,\nwithout verdure and trees, and where a hermit had built him a hut,\nwherein he might shelter needy travelers.\n\nAfterward, they had walked over the snowfields, where the mountain-rats\nsleep, and come to the piled-up ice masses, which stood on edge and\na-tilt, and where scarcely a chamois could pass.\n\nUp there our Lord had found a little red-breasted bird, that lay frozen\nto death on the ice, and He had picked up the bullfinch and tucked it in\nHis bosom. And Saint Peter remembered he had wondered if this was to be\ntheir dinner.\n\nThey had wandered a long while on the slippery ice-blocks, and it had\nseemed to Saint Peter that he had never been so near perdition; for a\ndeadly cold wind and a deadly dark mist enveloped them, and as far as he\ncould discover, there wasn\u2019t a living thing to be found. And, still,\nthey were only half-way up the mountain.\n\nThen he begged our Lord to let him turn back.\n\n\u201cNot yet,\u201d said our Lord, \u201cfor I want to show you something which will\ngive you courage to meet all sorrows.\u201d\n\nFor this they had gone on through mist and cold until they had reached\nan interminably high wall, which prevented them from going farther.\n\n\u201cThis wall extends all around the mountain,\u201d said our Lord, \u201cand you\ncan\u2019t step over it at any point. Nor can any living creature see\nanything of that which lies behind it, for it is here that Paradise\nbegins; and all the way up to the mountain\u2019s summit live the blessed\ndead.\u201d\n\nBut Saint Peter couldn\u2019t help looking doubtful. \u201cIn there is neither\ndarkness nor cold,\u201d said our Lord, \u201cbut there it is always summer, with\nthe bright light of suns and stars.\u201d\n\nBut Saint Peter was not able to persuade himself to believe this.\n\nThen our Lord took the little bird which He had just found on the ice,\nand, bending backwards, threw it over the wall, so that it fell down\ninto Paradise.\n\nAnd immediately thereafter Saint Peter heard a loud, joyous trill, and\nrecognized a bullfinch\u2019s song, and was greatly astonished.\n\nHe turned toward our Lord and said: \u201cLet us return to the earth and\nsuffer all that must be suffered, for now I see that you speak the\ntruth, and that there is a place where Life overcomes death.\u201d\n\nAnd they descended from the mountain and began their wanderings again.\n\nAnd it was years before Saint Peter saw any more than this one glimpse\nof Paradise; but he had always longed for the land beyond the wall. And\nnow at last he was there, and did not have to strive and yearn any more.\nNow he could drink bliss in full measure all day long from never-dying\nstreams.\n\nBut Saint Peter had not been in Paradise a fortnight before it happened\nthat an angel came to our Lord where He sat upon His throne, bowed seven\ntimes before Him, and told Him that a great sorrow must have come upon\nSaint Peter. He would neither eat nor drink, and his eyelids were red,\nas though he had not slept for several nights.\n\nAs soon as our Lord heard this, He rose and went to seek Saint Peter.\n\nHe found him far away, on one of the outskirts of Paradise, where he lay\nupon the ground, as if he were too exhausted to stand, and he had rent\nhis garments and strewn his hair with ashes.\n\nWhen our Lord saw him so distressed, He sat down on the ground beside\nhim, and talked to him, just as He would have done had they still been\nwandering around in this world of trouble.\n\n\u201cWhat is it that makes you so sad, Saint Peter?\u201d said our Lord.\n\nBut grief had overpowered Saint Peter, so that he could not answer.\n\n\u201cWhat is it that makes you so sad?\u201d asked our Lord once again.\n\nWhen our Lord repeated the question, Saint Peter took the gold crown\nfrom his head and threw it at our Lord\u2019s feet, as much as to say he\nwanted no further share in His honor and glory.\n\nBut our Lord understood, of course, that Saint Peter was so disconsolate\nthat he knew not what he did. He showed no anger at him.\n\n\u201cYou must tell me what troubles you,\u201d said He, just as gently as before,\nand with an even greater love in His voice.\n\nBut now Saint Peter jumped up; and then our Lord knew that he was not\nonly disconsolate, but downright angry. He came toward our Lord with\nclenched fists and snapping eyes.\n\n\u201cNow I want a dismissal from your service!\u201d said Saint Peter. \u201cI can not\nremain another day in Paradise.\u201d\n\nOur Lord tried to calm him, just as He had been obliged to do many times\nbefore, when Saint Peter had flared up.\n\n\u201cOh, certainly you can go,\u201d said He, \u201cbut you must first tell me what it\nis that displeases you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can tell you that I awaited a better reward than this when we two\nendured all sorts of misery down on earth,\u201d said Saint Peter.\n\nOur Lord saw that Saint Peter\u2019s soul was filled with bitterness, and He\nfelt no anger at him.\n\n\u201cI tell you that you are free to go whither you will,\u201d said He, \u201cif you\nwill only let me know what is troubling you.\u201d\n\nThen, at last, Saint Peter told our Lord why he was so unhappy. \u201cI had\nan old mother,\u201d said he, \u201cand she died a few days ago.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow I know what distresses you,\u201d said our Lord. \u201cYou suffer because\nyour mother has not come into Paradise.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true,\u201d said Saint Peter, and at the same time his grief became\nso overwhelming that he began to sob and moan.\n\n\u201cI think I deserved at least that she should be permitted to come here,\u201d\nsaid he.\n\nBut when our Lord learned what it was that Saint Peter was grieving\nover, He, in turn, became distressed. Saint Peter\u2019s mother had not been\nsuch that she could enter the Heavenly Kingdom. She had never thought of\nanything except to hoard money, and to the poor who had knocked at her\ndoor she had never given so much as a copper or a crust of bread. But\nour Lord understood that it was impossible for Saint Peter to grasp the\nfact that his mother had been so greedy that she was not entitled to\nbliss.\n\n\u201cSaint Peter,\u201d said He, \u201chow can you be so sure that your mother would\nfeel at home here with us?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou say such things only that you may not have to listen to my\nprayers,\u201d said Saint Peter. \u201cWho wouldn\u2019t be happy in Paradise?\u201d\n\n\u201cOne who does not feel joy over the happiness of others can not rest\ncontent here,\u201d said our Lord.\n\n\u201cThen there are others than my mother who do not belong here,\u201d said\nSaint Peter, and our Lord observed that he was thinking of Him.\n\nAnd He felt deeply grieved because Saint Peter had been stricken with\nsuch a heavy sorrow that he no longer knew what he said. He stood a\nmoment and expected that Saint Peter would repent, and understand that\nhis mother was not fit for Paradise. But the Saint would not give in.\n\nThen our Lord called an angel and commanded that he should fly down into\nhell and bring Saint Peter\u2019s mother to Paradise.\n\n\u201cLet me see how he carries her,\u201d said Saint Peter.\n\nOur Lord took Saint Peter by the hand and led him out to a steep\nprecipice which leaned slantingly to one side. And He showed him that he\nonly had to lean over the precipice very, very little to be able to look\ndown into hell.\n\nWhen Saint Peter glanced down, he could not at first see anything more\nthan if he had looked into a deep well. It was as though an endless\nchasm opened under him.\n\nThe first thing which he could faintly distinguish was the angel, who\nhad already started on his way to the nether regions. Saint Peter saw\nhow the angel dived down into the great darkness, without the least\nfear, and spread his wings just a little, so as not to descend too\nrapidly.\n\nBut when Saint Peter\u2019s eyes had become a little more used to the\ndarkness he began to see more and more. In the first place, he saw that\nParadise lay on a ring-mountain, which encircled a wide chasm, and it\nwas at the bottom of this chasm that the souls of the sinful had their\nabode. He saw how the angel sank and sank a long while without reaching\nthe depths. He became absolutely terrified because it was such a long\ndistance down there.\n\n\u201cMay he only come up again with my mother!\u201d said he.\n\nOur Lord only looked at Saint Peter with great sorrowful eyes. \u201cThere is\nno weight too heavy for my angel to carry,\u201d said He.\n\nIt was so far down to the nether regions that no ray of sunlight could\npenetrate thither: there darkness reigned. But it was as if the angel in\nhis flight must have brought with him a little clearness and light, so\nthat it was possible for Saint Peter to see how it looked down there.\n\nIt was an endless, black rock-desert. Sharp, pointed rocks covered the\nentire foundation. There was not a green blade, not a tree, not a sign\nof life.\n\nBut all over, on the sharp rocks, were condemned souls. They hung over\nthe edges, whither they had clambered that they might swing themselves\nup from the ravine; and when they saw that they could get nowhere, they\nremained up there, petrified with anguish.\n\nSaint Peter saw some of them sit or lie with arms extended in ceaseless\nlonging, and with eyes fixedly turned upwards. Others had covered their\nfaces with their hands, as if they would shut out the hopeless horror\naround them. They were all rigid; there was not one among them who had\nthe power to move. Some lay in the water-pools, perfectly still, without\ntrying to rise from them.\n\nBut the most dreadful thing of all was\u2014there was such a great throng of\nthe lost. It was as though the bottom of the ravine were made up of\nnothing but bodies and heads.\n\nAnd Saint Peter was struck with a new fear. \u201cYou shall see that he will\nnot find her,\u201d said he to our Lord.\n\nOnce more our Lord looked at him with the same grieved expression. He\nknew of course that Saint Peter did not need to be uneasy about the\nangel.\n\nBut to Saint Peter it looked all the while as if the angel could not\nfind his mother in that great company of lost souls. He spread his wings\nand flew back and forth over the nether regions, while he sought her.\n\nSuddenly one of the poor lost creatures caught a glimpse of the angel,\nand he sprang up and stretched his arms towards him and cried: \u201cTake me\nwith you! Take me with you!\u201d\n\nThen, all at once, the whole throng was alive. All the millions upon\nmillions who languished in hell, roused themselves that instant, and\nraised their arms and cried to the angel that he should take them with\nhim to the blessed Paradise.\n\nTheir shrieks were heard all the way up to our Lord and Saint Peter,\nwhose hearts throbbed with anguish as they heard.\n\nThe angel swayed high above the condemned; but as he traveled back and\nforth, to find the one whom he sought, they all rushed after him, so\nthat it looked as though they had been swept on by a whirlwind.\n\nAt last the angel caught sight of the one he was to take with him. He\nfolded his wings over his back and shot down like a streak of lightning,\nand the astonished Saint Peter gave a cry of joy when he saw the angel\nplace an arm around his mother and lift her up.\n\n\u201cBlessed be thou that bringest my mother to me!\u201d said he.\n\nOur Lord laid His hand gently on Saint Peter\u2019s shoulder, as if He would\nwarn him not to abandon himself to joy too soon.\n\nBut Saint Peter was ready to weep for joy, because his mother was saved.\nHe could not understand that anything further would have the power to\npart them. And his joy increased when he saw that, quick as the angel\nhad been when he had lifted her up, still several of the lost souls had\nsucceeded in attaching themselves to her who was to be saved, in order\nthat they, too, might be borne to Paradise with her.\n\nThere must have been a dozen who clung to the old woman, and Saint Peter\nthought it was a great honor for his mother to help so many poor\nunfortunate beings out of perdition.\n\nNor did the angel do aught to hinder them. He seemed not at all troubled\nwith his burden, but rose and rose, and moved his wings with no more\neffort than if he were carrying a little dead birdling to heaven.\n\nBut then Saint Peter saw that his mother began to free herself from the\nlost souls that had clung to her. She gripped their hands and loosened\ntheir hold, so that one after another tumbled down into hell.\n\nSaint Peter could hear how they begged and implored her; but the old\nwoman did not desire that any one but herself should be saved. She freed\nherself from more and more of them, and let them fall down into misery.\nAnd as they fell, all space was filled with their lamentations and\ncurses.\n\nThen Saint Peter begged and implored his mother to show some compassion,\nbut she would not listen, and kept right on as before.\n\nAnd Saint Peter saw how the angel flew slower and slower, the lighter\nhis burden became. Such fear took hold of Saint Peter that his legs\nshook, and he was forced to drop on his knees.\n\nFinally, there was only one condemned soul who still clung to St.\nPeter\u2019s mother. This was a young woman who hung on her neck and begged\nand cried in her ear that she would let her go along with her to the\nblessed Paradise.\n\nThe angel with his burden had already come so far that Saint Peter\nstretched out his arms to receive his mother. He thought that the angel\nhad to make only two or three wing-strokes more to reach the mountain.\n\nThen, all of a sudden, the angel held his wings perfectly still, and his\ncountenance became dark as night.\n\nFor now the old woman had stretched her hands back of her and gripped\nthe arms of the young woman who hung about her neck, and she clutched\nand tore until she succeeded in separating the clasped hands, so that\nshe was free from this last one also.\n\nWhen the condemned one fell the angel sank several fathoms lower, and it\nappeared as though he had not the strength to lift his wings again.\n\nHe looked down upon the old woman with a deep, sorrowful glance; his\nhold around her waist loosened, and he let her fall, as if she were too\nheavy a burden for him, now that she was alone.\n\nThereupon he swung himself with a single stroke up into Paradise.\n\nBut Saint Peter lay for a long while in the same place, and sobbed, and\nour Lord stood silent beside him.\n\n\u201cSaint Peter,\u201d said our Lord at last, \u201cI never thought that you would\nweep like this after you had reached Paradise.\u201d\n\nThen God\u2019s old servant raised his head and answered: \u201cWhat kind of a\nParadise is this, where I can hear the moans of my dearest ones, and see\nthe sufferings of my fellow men!\u201d\n\nThe face of our Lord became o\u2019ercast by the deepest sorrow. \u201cWhat did I\ndesire more than to prepare a Paradise for all, of nothing but light and\nhappiness?\u201d He said. \u201cDo you not understand that it was because of this\nI went down among men and taught them to love their neighbors as\nthemselves? For as long as they do this not, there will be no refuge in\nheaven or on earth where pain and sorrow cannot reach them.\u201d\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Illustration: The Sacred Flame]\n\n                            THE SACRED FLAME\n\n\n                                   I\n\nA great many years ago, when the city of Florence had only just been\nmade a republic, a man lived there named Raniero di Raniero. He was the\nson of an armorer, and had learned his father\u2019s trade, but he did not\ncare much to pursue it.\n\nThis Raniero was the strongest of men. It was said of him that he bore a\nheavy iron armor as lightly as others wear a silk shirt. He was still a\nyoung man, but already he had given many proofs of his strength. Once he\nwas in a house where grain was stored in the loft. Too much grain had\nbeen heaped there; and while Raniero was in the house one of the loft\nbeams broke down, and the whole roof was about to fall in. He raised his\narms and held the roof up until the people managed to fetch beams and\npoles to prop it.\n\nIt was also said of Raniero that he was the bravest man that had ever\nlived in Florence, and that he could never get enough of fighting. As\nsoon as he heard any noise in the street, he rushed out from the\nworkshop, in hopes that a fight had arisen in which he might\nparticipate. If he could only distinguish himself, he fought just as\nreadily with humble peasants as with armored horsemen. He rushed into a\nfight like a lunatic, without counting his opponents.\n\nFlorence was not very powerful in his time. The people were mostly wool\nspinners and cloth weavers, and these asked nothing better than to be\nallowed to perform their tasks in peace. Sturdy men were plentiful, but\nthey were not quarrelsome, and they were proud of the fact that in their\ncity better order prevailed than elsewhere. Raniero often grumbled\nbecause he was not born in a country where there was a king who gathered\naround him valiant men, and declared that in such an event he would have\nattained great honor and renown.\n\nRaniero was loud-mouthed and boastful; cruel to animals, harsh toward\nhis wife, and not good for any one to live with. He would have been\nhandsome if he had not had several deep scars across his face which\ndisfigured him. He was quick to jump at conclusions, and quick to act,\nthough his way was often violent.\n\nRaniero was married to Francesca, who was the daughter of Jacopo degli\nUberti, a wise and influential man. Jacopo had not been very anxious to\ngive his daughter to such a bully as Raniero, but had opposed the\nmarriage until the very last. Francesca forced him to relent, by\ndeclaring that she would never marry any one else. When Jacopo finally\ngave his consent, he said to Raniero: \u201cI have observed that men like you\ncan more easily win a woman\u2019s love than keep it; therefore I shall exact\nthis promise from you: If my daughter finds life with you so hard that\nshe wishes to come back to me, you will not prevent her.\u201d Francesca said\nit was needless to exact such a promise, since she was so fond of\nRaniero that nothing could separate her from him. But Raniero gave his\npromise promptly. \u201cOf one thing you can be assured, Jacopo,\u201d said he\u2014\u201cI\nwill not try to hold any woman who wishes to flee from me.\u201d\n\nThen Francesca went to live with Raniero, and all was well between them\nfor a time. When they had been married a few weeks, Raniero took it into\nhis head that he would practice marksmanship. For several days he aimed\nat a painting which hung upon a wall. He soon became skilled, and hit\nthe mark every time. At last he thought he would like to try and shoot\nat a more difficult mark. He looked around for something suitable, but\ndiscovered nothing except a quail that sat in a cage above the courtyard\ngate. The bird belonged to Francesca, and she was very fond of it; but,\ndespite this, Raniero sent a page to open the cage, and shot the quail\nas it swung itself into the air.\n\nThis seemed to him a very good shot, and he boasted of it to any one who\nwould listen to him.\n\nWhen Francesca learned that Raniero had shot her bird, she grew pale and\nlooked hard at him. She marveled that he had wished to do a thing which\nmust bring grief to her; but she forgave him promptly and loved him as\nbefore.\n\nThen all went well again for a time.\n\nRaniero\u2019s father-in-law, Jacopo, was a flax weaver. He had a large\nestablishment, where much work was done. Raniero thought he had\ndiscovered that hemp was mixed with the flax in Jacopo\u2019s workshop, and\nhe did not keep silent about it, but talked of it here and there in the\ncity. At last Jacopo also heard this chatter, and tried at once to put a\nstop to it. He let several other flax weavers examine his yarn and\ncloth, and they found all of it to be of the very finest flax. Only in\none pack, which was designed to be sold outside of Florence, was there\nany mixture. Then Jacopo said that the deception had been practised\nwithout his knowledge or consent, by some one among his journeymen. He\napprehended at once that he would find it difficult to convince people\nof this. He had always been famed for honesty, and he felt very keenly\nthat his honor had been smirched.\n\nRaniero, on the other hand, plumed himself upon having succeeded in\nexposing a fraud, and he bragged about it even in Francesca\u2019s hearing.\n\nShe felt deeply grieved; at the same time she was as astonished as when\nhe shot the bird. As she thought of this, she seemed suddenly to see her\nlove before her; and it was like a great piece of shimmery gold cloth.\nShe could see how big it was, and how it shimmered. But from one corner\na piece had been cut away, so that it was not as big and as beautiful as\nit had been in the beginning.\n\nStill, it was as yet damaged so very little that she thought: \u201cIt will\nprobably last as long as I live. It is so great that it can never come\nto an end.\u201d\n\nAgain, there was a period during which she and Raniero were just as\nhappy as they had been at first.\n\nFrancesca had a brother named Taddeo. He had been in Venice on a\nbusiness trip, and, while there, had purchased garments of silk and\nvelvet. When he came home he paraded around in them. Now, in Florence it\nwas not the custom to go about expensively clad, so there were many who\nmade fun of him.\n\nOne night Taddeo and Raniero were out in the wine shops. Taddeo was\ndressed in a green cloak with sable linings, and a violet jacket.\nRaniero tempted him to drink so much wine that he fell asleep, and then\nhe took his cloak off him and hung it upon a scarecrow that was set up\nin a cabbage patch.\n\nWhen Francesca heard of this she was vexed again with Raniero. That\nmoment she saw before her the big piece of gold cloth\u2014which was her\nlove\u2014and she seemed to see how it diminished, as Raniero cut away piece\nafter piece.\n\nAfter this, things were patched up between them for a time, but\nFrancesca was no longer so happy as in former days, because she always\nfeared that Raniero would commit some misdemeanor that would hurt her\nlove.\n\nThis was not long in coming, either, for Raniero could never be\ntranquil. He wished that people should always speak of him and praise\nhis courage and daring.\n\nAt that time the cathedral in Florence was much smaller than the present\none, and there hung at the top of one of its towers a big, heavy shield,\nwhich had been placed there by one of Francesca\u2019s ancestors. It was the\nheaviest shield any man in Florence had been able to lift, and all the\nUberti family were proud because it was one of their own who had climbed\nup in the tower and hung it there.\n\nBut Raniero climbed up to the shield one day, hung it on his back, and\ncame down with it.\n\nWhen Francesca heard of this for the first time she spoke to Raniero of\nwhat troubled her, and begged him not to humiliate her family in this\nway. Raniero, who had expected that she would commend him for his feat,\nbecame very angry. He retorted that he had long observed that she did\nnot rejoice in his success, but thought only of her own kin. \u201cIt\u2019s\nsomething else I am thinking of,\u201d said Francesca, \u201cand that is my love.\nI know not what will become of it if you keep on in this way.\u201d\n\nAfter this they frequently exchanged harsh words, for Raniero happened\nnearly always to do the very thing that was most distasteful to\nFrancesca.\n\nThere was a workman in Raniero\u2019s shop who was little and lame. This man\nhad loved Francesca before she was married, and continued to love her\neven after her marriage. Raniero, who knew this, undertook to joke with\nhim before all who sat at a table. It went so far that finally the man\ncould no longer bear to be held up to ridicule in Francesca\u2019s hearing,\nso he rushed upon Raniero and wanted to fight with him. But Raniero only\nsmiled derisively and kicked him aside. Then the poor fellow thought he\ndid not care to live any longer, and went off and hanged himself.\n\nWhen this happened, Francesca and Raniero had been married about a year.\nFrancesca thought continually that she saw her love before her as a\nshimmery piece of cloth, but on all sides large pieces were cut away, so\nthat it was scarcely half as big as it had been in the beginning.\n\nShe became very much alarmed when she saw this, and thought: \u201cIf I stay\nwith Raniero another year, he will destroy my love. I shall become just\nas poor as I have hitherto been rich.\u201d\n\nThen she concluded to leave Raniero\u2019s house and go to live with her\nfather, that the day might not come when she should hate Raniero as much\nas she now loved him.\n\nJacopo degli Uberti was sitting at the loom with all his workmen busy\naround him when he saw her coming. He said that now the thing had come\nto pass which he had long expected, and bade her be welcome. Instantly\nhe ordered all the people to leave off their work and arm themselves and\nclose the house.\n\nThen Jacopo went over to Raniero. He met him in the workshop. \u201cMy\ndaughter has this day returned to me and begged that she may live again\nunder my roof,\u201d he said to his son-in-law. \u201cAnd now I expect that you\nwill not compel her to return to you, after the promise you have given\nme.\u201d\n\nRaniero did not seem to take this very seriously, but answered calmly:\n\u201cEven if I had not given you my word, I would not demand the return of a\nwoman who does not wish to be mine.\u201d\n\nHe knew how much Francesca loved him, and said to himself: \u201cShe will be\nback with me before evening.\u201d\n\nYet she did not appear either that day or the next.\n\nThe third day Raniero went out and pursued a couple of robbers who had\nlong disturbed the Florentine merchants. He succeeded in catching them,\nand took them captives to Florence.\n\nHe remained quiet a couple of days, until he was positive that this feat\nwas known throughout the city. But it did not turn out as he had\nexpected\u2014that it would bring Francesca back to him.\n\nRaniero had the greatest desire to appeal to the courts, to force her\nreturn to him, but he felt himself unable to do this because of his\npromise. It seemed impossible for him to live in the same city with a\nwife who had abandoned him, so he moved away from Florence.\n\nHe first became a soldier, and very soon he made himself commander of a\nvolunteer company. He was always in a fight, and served many masters.\n\nHe won much renown as a warrior, as he had always said he would. He was\nmade a knight by the Emperor, and was accounted a great man.\n\nBefore he left Florence, he had made a vow at a sacred image of the\nMadonna in the Cathedral to present to the Blessed Virgin the best and\nrarest that he won in every battle. Before this image one always saw\ncostly gifts, which were presented by Raniero.\n\nRaniero was aware that all his deeds were known in his native city. He\nmarveled much that Francesca degli Uberti did not come back to him, when\nshe knew all about his success.\n\nAt that time sermons were preached to start the Crusades for the\nrecovery of the Holy Sepulchre from the Saracens, and Raniero took the\ncross and departed for the Orient. He not only hoped to win castles and\nlands to rule over, but also to succeed in performing such brilliant\nfeats that his wife would again be fond of him, and return to him.\n\n                                   II\n\nThe night succeeding the day on which Jerusalem had been captured, there\nwas great rejoicing in the Crusaders\u2019 camp, outside the city. In almost\nevery tent they celebrated with drinking bouts, and noise and roystering\nwere heard in every direction.\n\nRaniero di Raniero sat and drank with some comrades; and in his tent it\nwas even more hilarious than elsewhere. The servants barely had time to\nfill the goblets before they were empty again.\n\nRaniero had the best of reasons for celebrating, because during the day\nhe had won greater glory than ever before. In the morning, when the city\nwas besieged, he had been the first to scale the walls after Godfrey of\nBoulogne; and in the evening he had been honored for his bravery in the\npresence of the whole corps.\n\nWhen the plunder and murder were ended, and the Crusaders in penitents\u2019\ncloaks and with lighted candles marched into the Church of the Holy\nSepulchre, it had been announced to Raniero by Godfrey that he should be\nthe first who might light his candle from the sacred candles which burn\nbefore Christ\u2019s tomb. It appeared to Raniero that Godfrey wished in this\nmanner to show that he considered him the bravest man in the whole\ncorps; and he was very happy over the way in which he had been rewarded\nfor his achievements.\n\nAs the night wore on, Raniero and his guests were in the best of\nspirits; a fool and a couple of musicians who had wandered all over the\ncamp and amused the people with their pranks, came into Raniero\u2019s tent,\nand the fool asked permission to narrate a comic story.\n\nRaniero knew that this particular fool was in great demand for his\ndrollery, and he promised to listen to his narrative.\n\n\u201cIt happened once,\u201d said the fool, \u201cthat our Lord and Saint Peter sat a\nwhole day upon the highest tower in Paradise Stronghold, and looked down\nupon the earth. They had so much to look at, that they scarcely found\ntime to exchange a word. Our Lord kept perfectly still the whole time,\nbut Saint Peter sometimes clapped his hands for joy, and again turned\nhis head away in disgust. Sometimes he applauded and smiled, and anon he\nwept and commiserated. Finally, as it drew toward the close of day, and\ntwilight sank down over Paradise, our Lord turned to Saint Peter and\nsaid that now he must surely be satisfied and content. \u2018What is it that\nI should be content with?\u2019 Saint Peter asked, in an impetuous tone.\n\u2018Why,\u2019 said our Lord slowly, \u2018I thought that you would be pleased with\nwhat you have seen to-day.\u2019 But Saint Peter did not care to be\nconciliated. \u2018It is true,\u2019 said he, \u2018that for many years I have bemoaned\nthe fact that Jerusalem should be in the power of unbelievers, but after\nall that has happened to-day, I think it might just as well have\nremained as it was.\u2019\u201d\n\nRaniero understood now that the fool spoke of what had taken place\nduring the day. Both he and the other knights began to listen with\ngreater interest than in the beginning.\n\n\u201cWhen Saint Peter had said this,\u201d continued the fool, as he cast a\nfurtive glance at the knights, \u201che leaned over the pinnacle of the tower\nand pointed toward the earth. He showed our Lord a city which lay upon a\ngreat solitary rock that shot up from a mountain valley. \u2018Do you see\nthose mounds of corpses?\u2019 he said. \u2018And do you see the naked and\nwretched prisoners who moan in the night chill? And do you see all the\nsmoking ruins of the conflagration?\u2019 It appeared as if our Lord did not\nwish to answer him, but Saint Peter went on with his lamentations. He\nsaid that he had certainly been vexed with that city many times, but he\nhad not wished it so ill as that it should come to look like this. Then,\nat last, our Lord answered, and tried an objection: \u2018Still, you can not\ndeny that the Christian knights have risked their lives with the utmost\nfearlessness,\u2019 said He.\u201d\n\nThen the fool was interrupted by bravos, but he made haste to continue.\n\n\u201cOh, don\u2019t interrupt me!\u201d he said. \u201cNow I don\u2019t remember where I left\noff\u2014ah! to be sure, I was just going to say that Saint Peter wiped away\na tear or two which sprang to his eyes and prevented him from seeing. \u2018I\nnever would have thought they could be such beasts,\u2019 said he. \u2018They have\nmurdered and plundered the whole day. Why you went to all the trouble of\nletting yourself be crucified in order to gain such devotees, I can\u2019t in\nthe least comprehend.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe knights took up the fun good-naturedly. They began to laugh loud and\nmerrily. \u201cWhat, fool! Is Saint Peter so wroth with us?\u201d shrieked one of\nthem.\n\n\u201cBe silent now, and let us hear if our Lord spoke in our defense!\u201d\ninterposed another.\n\n\u201cNo, our Lord was silent. He knew of old that when Saint Peter had once\ngot a-going, it wasn\u2019t worth while to argue with him. He went on in his\nway, and said that our Lord needn\u2019t trouble to tell him that finally\nthey remembered to which city they had come, and went to church\nbarefooted and in penitents\u2019 garb. That spirit had, of course, not\nlasted long enough to be worth mentioning. And thereupon he leaned once\nmore over the tower and pointed downward toward Jerusalem. He pointed\nout the Christians\u2019 camp outside the city. \u2018Do you see how your knights\ncelebrate their victories?\u2019 he asked. And our Lord saw that there was\nrevelry everywhere in the camp. Knights and soldiers sat and looked upon\nSyrian dancers. Filled goblets went the rounds while they threw dice for\nthe spoils of war and\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cThey listened to fools who told vile stories,\u201d interpolated Raniero.\n\u201cWas not this also a great sin?\u201d\n\nThe fool laughed and shook his head at Raniero, as much as to say,\n\u201cWait! I will pay you back.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, don\u2019t interrupt me!\u201d he begged once again. \u201cA poor fool forgets so\neasily what he would say. Ah! it was this: Saint Peter asked our Lord if\nHe thought these people were much of a credit to Him. To this, of\ncourse, our Lord had to reply that He didn\u2019t think they were.\n\n\u201c\u2018They were robbers and murderers before they left home, and robbers and\nmurderers they are even to-day. This undertaking you could just as well\nhave left undone. No good will come of it,\u2019 said Saint Peter.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome, come, fool!\u201d said Raniero in a threatening tone. But the fool\nseemed to consider it an honor to test how far he could go without some\none jumping up and throwing him out, and he continued fearlessly.\n\n\u201cOur Lord only bowed His head, like one who acknowledges that he is\nbeing justly rebuked. But almost at the same instant He leaned forward\neagerly and peered down with closer scrutiny than before. Saint Peter\nalso glanced down. \u2018What are you looking for?\u2019 he wondered.\u201d\n\nThe fool delivered this speech with much animated facial play. All the\nknights saw our Lord and Saint Peter before their eyes, and they\nwondered what it was our Lord had caught sight of.\n\n\u201cOur Lord answered that it was nothing in particular,\u201d said the fool.\n\u201cSaint Peter gazed in the direction of our Lord\u2019s glance, but he could\ndiscover nothing except that our Lord sat and looked down into a big\ntent, outside of which a couple of Saracen heads were set up on long\nlances, and where a lot of fine rugs, golden vessels, and costly\nweapons, captured in the Holy City, were piled up. In that tent they\ncarried on as they did everywhere else in the camp. A company of knights\nsat and emptied their goblets. The only difference might be that here\nthere were more drinking and roystering than elsewhere. Saint Peter\ncould not comprehend why our Lord was so pleased when He looked down\nthere, that His eyes fairly sparkled with delight. So many hard and\ncruel faces he had rarely before seen gathered around a drinking table.\nAnd he who was host at the board and sat at the head of the table was\nthe most dreadful of all. He was a man of thirty-five, frightfully big\nand coarse, with a blowsy countenance covered with scars and scratches,\ncalloused hands, and a loud, bellowing voice.\u201d\n\nHere the fool paused a moment, as if he feared to go on, but both\nRaniero and the others liked to hear him talk of themselves, and only\nlaughed at his audacity. \u201cYou\u2019re a daring fellow,\u201d said Raniero, \u201cso let\nus see what you are driving at!\u201d\n\n\u201cFinally, our Lord said a few words,\u201d continued the fool, \u201cwhich made\nSaint Peter understand what He rejoiced over. He asked Saint Peter if He\nsaw wrongly, or if it could actually be true that one of the knights had\na burning candle beside him.\u201d\n\nRaniero gave a start at these words. Now, at last, he was angry with the\nfool, and reached out his hand for a heavy wine pitcher to throw at his\nface, but he controlled himself that he might hear whether the fellow\nwished to speak to his credit or discredit.\n\n\u201cSaint Peter saw now,\u201d narrated the fool, \u201cthat, although the tent was\nlighted mostly by torches, one of the knights really had a burning wax\ncandle beside him. It was a long, thick candle, one of the sort made to\nburn twenty-four hours. The knight, who had no candlestick to set it in,\nhad gathered together some stones and piled them around it, to make it\nstand.\u201d\n\nThe company burst into shrieks of laughter at this. All pointed at a\ncandle which stood on the table beside Raniero, and was exactly like the\none the fool had described. The blood mounted to Raniero\u2019s head; for\nthis was the candle which he had a few hours before been permitted to\nlight at the Holy Sepulchre. He had been unable to make up his mind to\nlet it die out.\n\n\u201cWhen Saint Peter saw that candle,\u201d said the fool, \u201cit dawned upon him\nwhat it was that our Lord was so happy over, but at the same time he\ncould not help feeling just a little sorry for Him. \u2018Oh,\u2019 he said, \u2018it\nwas the same knight that leaped upon the wall this morning immediately\nafter the gentleman of Boulogne, and who this evening was permitted to\nlight his candle at the Holy Sepulchre ahead of all the others. \u2018True!\u2019\nsaid our Lord. \u2018And, as you see, his candle is still burning.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe fool talked very fast now, casting an occasional sly glance at\nRaniero. \u201cSaint Peter could not help pitying our Lord. \u2018Can\u2019t you\nunderstand why he keeps that candle burning?\u2019 said he. \u2018You must believe\nthat he thinks of your sufferings and death whenever he looks at it. But\nhe thinks only of the glory which he won when he was acknowledged to be\nthe bravest man in the troop after Godfrey.\u2019\u201d\n\nAt this all Raniero\u2019s guests laughed. Raniero was very angry, but he,\ntoo, forced himself to laugh. He knew they would have found it still\nmore amusing if he hadn\u2019t been able to take a little fun.\n\n\u201cBut our Lord contradicted Saint Peter,\u201d said the fool. \u201c\u2018Don\u2019t you see\nhow careful he is with the light?\u2019 asked He. \u2018He puts his hand before\nthe flame as soon as any one raises the tent-flap, for fear the draught\nwill blow it out. And he is constantly occupied in chasing away the\nmoths which fly around it and threaten to extinguish it.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe laughter grew merrier and merrier, for what the fool said was the\ntruth. Raniero found it more and more difficult to control himself. He\nfelt he could not endure that any one should jest about the sacred\ncandle.\n\n\u201cStill, Saint Peter was dubious,\u201d continued the fool. \u201cHe asked our Lord\nif He knew that knight. \u2018He\u2019s not one who goes often to Mass or wears\nout the prie-dieu,\u2019 said he. But our Lord could not be swerved from His\nopinion.\n\n\u201c\u2018Saint Peter, Saint Peter,\u2019 He said earnestly. \u2018Remember that\nhenceforth this knight shall become more pious than Godfrey. Whence do\npiety and gentleness spring, if not from my sepulchre? You shall see\nRaniero di Raniero help widows and distressed prisoners. You shall see\nhim care for the sick and despairing as he now cares for the sacred\ncandle flame.\u2019\u201d\n\nAt this they laughed inordinately. It struck them all as very ludicrous,\nfor they knew Raniero\u2019s disposition and mode of living. But he himself\nfound both the jokes and laughter intolerable. He sprang to his feet and\nwanted to reprove the fool. As he did this, he bumped so hard against\nthe table\u2014which was only a door set up on loose boxes\u2014that it wabbled,\nand the candle fell down. It was evident now how careful Raniero was to\nkeep the candle burning. He controlled his anger and gave himself time\nto pick it up and brighten the flame, before he rushed upon the fool.\nBut when he had trimmed the light the fool had already darted out of the\ntent, and Raniero knew it would be useless to pursue him in the\ndarkness. \u201cI shall probably run across him another time,\u201d he thought,\nand sat down.\n\nMeanwhile the guests had laughed mockingly, and one of them turned to\nRaniero and wanted to continue the jesting. He said: \u201cThere is one\nthing, however, which is certain, Raniero, and that is\u2014this time you\ncan\u2019t send to the Madonna in Florence the most precious thing you have\nwon in the battle.\u201d\n\nRaniero asked why he thought that he should not follow his old habit\nthis time.\n\n\u201cFor no other reason,\u201d said the knight, \u201cthan that the most precious\nthing you have won is that sacred candle flame, which you were permitted\nto light at the church of the Holy Sepulchre in presence of the whole\ncorps. Surely you can\u2019t send that to Florence!\u201d\n\nAgain the other knights laughed, but Raniero was now in the mood to\nundertake the wildest projects, just to put an end to their laughter. He\ncame to a conclusion quickly, called to an old squire, and said to him:\n\u201cMake ready, Giovanni, for a long journey. To-morrow you shall travel to\nFlorence with this sacred candle flame.\u201d\n\nBut the squire said a blunt no to this command. \u201cThis is something which\nI don\u2019t care to undertake,\u201d he said. \u201cHow should it be possible to\ntravel to Florence with a candle flame? It would be extinguished before\nI had left the camp.\u201d\n\nRaniero asked one after another of his men. He received the same reply\nfrom all. They scarcely seemed to take his command seriously.\n\nIt was a foregone conclusion that the foreign knights who were his\nguests should laugh even louder and more merrily, as it became apparent\nthat none of Raniero\u2019s men wished to carry out his order.\n\nRaniero grew more and more excited. Finally he lost his patience and\nshouted: \u201cThis candle flame shall nevertheless be borne to Florence; and\nsince no one else will ride there with it, I will do so myself!\u201d\n\n\u201cConsider before you promise anything of the kind!\u201d said a knight. \u201cYou\nride away from a principality.\u201d\n\n\u201cI swear to you that I will carry this sacred flame to Florence!\u201d\nexclaimed Raniero. \u201cI shall do what no one else has cared to undertake.\u201d\n\nThe old squire defended himself. \u201cMaster, it\u2019s another matter for you.\nYou can take with you a large retinue but me you would send alone.\u201d\n\nBut Raniero was clean out of himself, and did not consider his words.\n\u201cI, too, shall travel alone,\u201d said he.\n\nBut with this declaration Raniero had carried his point. Every one in\nthe tent had ceased laughing. Terrified, they sat and stared at him.\n\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you laugh any more?\u201d asked Raniero. \u201cThis undertaking surely\ncan\u2019t be anything but a child\u2019s game for a brave man.\u201d\n\n                                  III\n\nThe next morning at dawn Raniero mounted his horse. He was in full\narmor, but over it he had thrown a coarse pilgrim cloak, so that the\niron dress should not become overheated by exposure to the sun\u2019s rays.\nHe was armed with a sword and battle-club, and rode a good horse. He\nheld in his hand a burning candle, and to the saddle he had tied a\ncouple of bundles of long wax candles, so the flame should not die out\nfor lack of nourishment.\n\nRaniero rode slowly through the long, encumbered tent street, and thus\nfar all went well. It was still so early that the mists which had arisen\nfrom the deep dales surrounding Jerusalem were not dispersed, and\nRaniero rode forward as in a white night. The whole troop slept, and\nRaniero passed the guards easily. None of them called out his name, for\nthe mist prevented their seeing him, and the roads were covered with a\ndust-like soil a foot high, which made the horse\u2019s tramp inaudible.\n\nRaniero was soon outside the camp and started on the road which led to\nJoppa. Here it was smoother, but he rode very slowly now, because of the\ncandle, which burned feebly in the thick mist. Big insects kept dashing\nagainst the flame. Raniero had all he could do guarding it, but he was\nin the best of spirits and thought all the while that the mission which\nhe had undertaken was so easy that a child could manage it.\n\nMeanwhile, the horse grew weary of the slow pace, and began to trot. The\nflame began to flicker in the wind. It didn\u2019t help that Raniero tried to\nshield it with his hand and with the cloak. He saw that it was about to\nbe extinguished.\n\nBut he had no desire to abandon the project so soon. He stopped the\nhorse, sat still a moment, and pondered. Then he dismounted and tried\nsitting backwards, so that his body shielded the flame from the wind. In\nthis way he succeeded in keeping it burning; but he realized now that\nthe journey would be more difficult than he had thought at the\nbeginning.\n\nWhen he had passed the mountains which surround Jerusalem, the fog\nlifted. He rode forward now in the greatest solitude. There were no\npeople, houses, green trees, nor plants\u2014only bare rocks.\n\nHere Raniero was attacked by robbers. They were idle folk, who followed\nthe camp without permission, and lived by theft and plunder. They had\nlain in hiding behind a hill, and Raniero\u2014who rode backwards\u2014had not\nseen them until they had surrounded him and brandished their swords at\nhim.\n\nThere were about twelve men. They looked wretched, and rode poor horses.\nRaniero saw at once that it would not be difficult for him to break\nthrough this company and ride on. And after his proud boast of the night\nbefore, he was unwilling to abandon his undertaking easily.\n\nHe saw no other means of escape than to compromise with the robbers. He\ntold them that, since he was armed and rode a good horse, it might be\ndifficult to overpower him if he defended himself. And as he was bound\nby a vow, he did not wish to offer resistance, but they could take\nwhatever they wanted, without a struggle, if only they promised not to\nput out his light.\n\nThe robbers had expected a hard struggle, and were very happy over\nRaniero\u2019s proposal, and began immediately to plunder him. They took from\nhim armor and steed, weapons and money. The only thing they let him keep\nwas the coarse cloak and the two bundles of wax candles. They sacredly\nkept their promise, also, not to put out the candle flame.\n\nOne of them mounted Raniero\u2019s horse. When he noticed what a fine animal\nhe was, he felt a little sorry for the rider. He called out to him:\n\u201cCome, come, we must not be too cruel toward a Christian. You shall have\nmy old horse to ride.\u201d\n\nIt was a miserable old screw of a horse. It moved as stiffly, and with\nas much difficulty, as if it were made of wood.\n\nWhen the robbers had gone at last, and Raniero had mounted the wretched\nhorse, he said to himself: \u201cI must have become bewitched by this candle\nflame. For its sake I must now travel along the roads like a crazy\nbeggar.\u201d\n\nHe knew it would be wise for him to turn back, because the undertaking\nwas really impracticable. But such an intense yearning to accomplish it\nhad come over him that he could not resist the desire to go on.\nTherefore, he went farther. He saw all around him the same bare,\nyellowish hills.\n\nAfter a while he came across a goatherd, who tended four goats. When\nRaniero saw the animals grazing on the barren ground, he wondered if\nthey ate earth.\n\nThis goatherd had owned a larger flock, which had been stolen from him\nby the Crusaders. When he noticed a solitary Christian come riding\ntoward him, he tried to do him all the harm he could. He rushed up to\nhim and struck at his light with his staff. Raniero was so taken up by\nthe flame that he could not defend himself even against a goatherd. He\nonly drew the candle close to him to protect it. The goatherd struck at\nit several times more, then he paused, astonished, and ceased striking.\nHe noticed that Raniero\u2019s cloak had caught fire, but Raniero did nothing\nto smother the blaze, so long as the sacred flame was in danger. The\ngoatherd looked as though he felt ashamed. For a long time he followed\nRaniero, and in one place, where the road was very narrow, with a deep\nchasm on each side of it, he came up and led the horse for him.\n\nRaniero smiled and thought the goatherd surely regarded him as a holy\nman who had undertaken a voluntary penance.\n\nToward evening Raniero began to meet people. Rumors of the fall of\nJerusalem had already spread to the coast, and a throng of people had\nimmediately prepared to go up there. There were pilgrims who for years\nhad awaited an opportunity to get into Jerusalem, also some\nnewly-arrived troops; but they were mostly merchants who were hastening\nwith provisions.\n\nWhen these throngs met Raniero, who came riding backwards with a burning\ncandle in his hand, they cried: \u201cA madman, a madman!\u201d\n\nThe majority were Italians; and Raniero heard how they shouted in his\nown tongue, \u201cPazzo, pazzo!\u201d which means \u201ca madman, a madman.\u201d\n\nRaniero, who had been able to keep himself well in check all day, became\nintensely irritated by these ever-recurring shouts. Instantly he\ndismounted and began to chastise the offenders with his hard fists. When\nthey saw how heavy the blows were, they took to their heels, and Raniero\nsoon stood alone on the road.\n\nNow Raniero was himself again. \u201cIn truth they were right to call me a\nmadman,\u201d he said, as he looked around for the light. He did not know\nwhat he had done with it. At last he saw that it had rolled down into a\nhollow. The flame was extinguished, but he saw fire gleam from a dry\ngrass-tuft close beside it, and understood that luck was with him, for\nthe flame had ignited the grass before it had gone out.\n\n\u201cThis might have been an inglorious end of a deal of trouble,\u201d he\nthought, as he lit the candle and stepped into the saddle. He was rather\nmortified. It did not seem to him very probable that his journey would\nbe a success.\n\nIn the evening Raniero reached Ramle, and rode up to a place where\ncaravans usually had night harbor. It was a large covered yard. All\naround it were little stalls where travelers could put up their horses.\nThere were no rooms, but folk could sleep beside the animals.\n\nThe place was overcrowded with people, yet the host found room for\nRaniero and his horse. He also gave fodder to the horse and food to the\nrider.\n\nWhen Raniero perceived that he was well treated, he thought: \u201cI almost\nbelieve the robbers did me a service when they took from me my armor and\nmy horse. I shall certainly get out of the country more easily with my\nlight burden, if they mistake me for a lunatic.\u201d\n\nWhen he had led the horse into the stall, he sat down on a sheaf of\nstraw and held the candle in his hands. It was his intention not to fall\nasleep, but to remain awake all night.\n\nBut he had hardly seated himself when he fell asleep. He was fearfully\nexhausted, and in his sleep he stretched out full length and did not\nwake till morning.\n\nWhen he awoke he saw neither flame nor candle. He searched in the straw\nfor the candle, but did not find it anywhere.\n\n\u201cSome one has taken it from me and extinguished it,\u201d he said. He tried\nto persuade himself that he was glad that all was over, and that he need\nnot pursue an impossible undertaking.\n\nBut as he pondered, he felt a sense of emptiness and loss. He thought\nthat never before had he so longed to succeed in anything on which he\nhad set his mind.\n\nHe led the horse out and groomed and saddled it.\n\nWhen he was ready to set out, the host who owned the caravansary came up\nto him with a burning candle. He said in Frankish: \u201cWhen you fell asleep\nlast night, I had to take your light from you, but here you have it\nagain.\u201d\n\nRaniero betrayed nothing, but said very calmly: \u201cIt was wise of you to\nextinguish it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have not extinguished it,\u201d said the man. \u201cI noticed that it was\nburning when you arrived, and I thought it was of importance to you that\nit should continue to burn. If you see how much it has decreased, you\nwill understand that it has been burning all night.\u201d\n\nRaniero beamed with happiness. He commended the host heartily, and rode\naway in the best of spirits.\n\n                                   IV\n\nWhen Raniero broke away from the camp at Jerusalem, he intended to\ntravel from Joppa to Italy by sea, but changed his mind after he had\nbeen robbed of his money, and concluded to make the journey by land.\n\nIt was a long journey. From Joppa he went northward along the Syrian\ncoast. Then he rode westward along the peninsula of Asia Minor, then\nnorthward again, all the way to Constantinople. From there he still had\na monotonously long distance to travel to reach Florence. During the\nwhole journey Raniero had lived upon the contributions of the pious.\nThey that shared their bread with him mostly were pilgrims who at this\ntime traveled _en masse_ to Jerusalem.\n\nRegardless of the fact that he nearly always rode alone, his days were\nneither long nor monotonous. He must always guard the candle flame, and\non its account he never could feel at ease. It needed only a puff of\nbreeze\u2014a rain-drop\u2014and there would have been an end to it.\n\nAs Raniero rode over lonely roads, and thought only about keeping the\nflame alive, it occurred to him that once before he had been concerned\nwith something similar. Once before he had seen a person watch over\nsomething which was just as sensitive as a candle flame.\n\nThis recollection was so vague to him at first that he wondered if it\nwas something he had dreamed.\n\nBut as he rode on alone through the country, it kept recurring to him\nthat he had participated in something similar once before.\n\n\u201cIt is as if all my life long I had heard tell of nothing else,\u201d said\nhe.\n\nOne evening he rode into a city. It was after sundown, and the\nhousewives stood in their doorways and watched for their husbands. Then\nhe noticed one who was tall and slender, and had earnest eyes. She\nreminded him of Francesca degli Uberti.\n\nInstantly it became clear to him what he had been pondering over. It\ncame to him that for Francesca her love must have been as a sacred flame\nwhich she had always wished to keep burning, and which she had\nconstantly feared that Raniero would quench. He was astonished at this\nthought, but grew more and more certain that the matter stood thus. For\nthe first time he began to understand why Francesca had left him, and\nthat it was not with feats of arms he should win her back.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe journey which Raniero made was of long duration. This was in part\ndue to the fact that he could not venture out when the weather was bad.\nThen he sat in some caravansary, and guarded the candle flame. These\nwere very trying days.\n\nOne day, when he rode over Mount Lebanon, he saw that a storm was\nbrewing. He was riding high up among awful precipices, and a frightful\ndistance from any human abode. Finally he saw on the summit of a rock\nthe tomb of a Saracen saint. It was a little square stone structure with\na vaulted roof. He thought it best to seek shelter there.\n\nHe had barely entered when a snowstorm came up, which raged for two days\nand nights. At the same time it grew so cold that he came near freezing\nto death.\n\nRaniero knew that there were heaps of branches and twigs out on the\nmountain, and it would not have been difficult for him to gather fuel\nfor a fire. But he considered the candle flame which he carried very\nsacred, and did not wish to light anything from it, except the candles\nbefore the Blessed Virgin\u2019s Altar.\n\nThe storm increased, and at last he heard thunder and saw gleams of\nlightning.\n\nThen came a flash which struck the mountain, just in front of the tomb,\nand set fire to a tree. And in this way he was enabled to light his fire\nwithout having to borrow of the sacred flame.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nAs Raniero was riding on through a desolate portion of the Cilician\nmountain district, his candles were all used up. The candles which he\nhad brought with him from Jerusalem had long since been consumed; but\nstill he had been able to manage because he had found Christian\ncommunities all along the way, of whom he had begged fresh candles.\n\nBut now his resources were exhausted, and he thought that this would be\nthe end of his journey.\n\nWhen the candle was so nearly burned out that the flame scorched his\nhand, he jumped from his horse and gathered branches and dry leaves and\nlit these with the last of the flame. But up on the mountain there was\nvery little that would ignite, and the fire would soon burn out.\n\nWhile he sat and grieved because the sacred flame must die, he heard\nsinging down the road, and a procession of pilgrims came marching up the\nsteep path, bearing candles in their hands. They were on their way to a\ngrotto where a holy man had lived, and Raniero followed them. Among them\nwas a woman who was very old and had difficulty in walking, and Raniero\ncarried her up the mountain.\n\nWhen she thanked him afterwards, he made a sign to her that she should\ngive him her candle. She did so, and several others also presented him\nwith the candles which they carried. He extinguished the candles,\nhurried down the steep path, and lit one of them with the last spark\nfrom the fire lighted by the sacred flame.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nOne day at the noon hour it was very warm, and Raniero had lain down to\nsleep in a thicket. He slept soundly, and the candle stood beside him\nbetween a couple of stones. When he had been asleep a while, it began to\nrain, and this continued for some time, without his waking. When at last\nhe was startled out of his sleep, the ground around him was wet, and he\nhardly dared glance toward the light, for fear it might be quenched.\n\nBut the light burned calmly and steadily in the rain, and Raniero saw\nthat this was because two little birds flew and fluttered just above the\nflame. They caressed it with their bills, and held their wings\noutspread, and in this way they protected the sacred flame from the\nrain.\n\nHe took off his hood immediately, and hung it over the candle. Thereupon\nhe reached out his hand for the two little birds, for he had been seized\nwith a desire to pet them. Neither of them flew away because of him, and\nhe could catch them.\n\nHe was very much astonished that the birds were not afraid of him. \u201cIt\nis because they know I have no thought except to protect that which is\nthe most sensitive of all, that they do not fear me,\u201d thought he.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nRaniero rode in the vicinity of Nic\u00e6a, in Bithynia. Here he met some\nwestern gentlemen who were conducting a party of recruits to the Holy\nLand. In this company was Robert Taillefer, who was a wandering knight\nand a troubadour.\n\nRaniero, in his torn cloak, came riding along with the candle in his\nhand, and the warriors began as usual to shout, \u201cA madman, a madman!\u201d\nBut Robert silenced them, and addressed the rider.\n\n\u201cHave you journeyed far in this manner?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cI have ridden like this all the way from Jerusalem,\u201d answered Raniero.\n\n\u201cHas your light been extinguished many times during the journey?\u201d\n\n\u201cStill burns the flame that lighted the candle with which I rode away\nfrom Jerusalem,\u201d responded Raniero.\n\nThen Robert Taillefer said to him: \u201cI am also one of those who carry a\nlight, and I would that it burned always. But perchance you, who have\nbrought your light burning all the way from Jerusalem, can tell me what\nI shall do that it may not become extinguished?\u201d\n\nThen Raniero answered: \u201cMaster, it is a difficult task, although it\nappears to be of slight importance. This little flame demands of you\nthat you shall entirely cease to think of anything else. It will not\nallow you to have any sweet-heart\u2014in case you should desire anything of\nthe sort\u2014neither would you dare on account of this flame to sit down at\na revel. You can not have aught else in your thoughts than just this\nflame, and must possess no other happiness. But my chief reason for\nadvising you against making the journey which I have weathered is that\nyou can not for an instant feel secure. It matters not through how many\nperils you may have guarded the flame, you can not for an instant think\nyourself secure, but must ever expect that the very next moment it may\nfail you.\u201d\n\nBut Robert Taillefer raised his head proudly and answered: \u201cWhat you\nhave done for your sacred flame I may do for mine.\u201d\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nRaniero arrived in Italy. One day he rode through lonely roads up among\nthe mountains. A woman came running after him and begged him to give her\na light from his candle. \u201cThe fire in my hut is out,\u201d said she. \u201cMy\nchildren are hungry. Give me a light that I may heat my oven and bake\nbread for them!\u201d\n\nShe reached for the burning candle, but Raniero held it back because he\ndid not wish that anything should be lighted by that flame but the\ncandles before the image of the Blessed Virgin.\n\nThen the woman said to him: \u201cPilgrim, give me a light, for the life of\nmy children is the flame which I am in duty bound to keep burning!\u201d And\nbecause of these words he permitted her to light the wick of her lamp\nfrom his flame.\n\nSeveral hours later he rode into a town. It lay far up on the mountain,\nwhere it was very cold. A peasant stood in the road and saw the poor\nwretch who came riding in his torn cloak. Instantly he stripped off the\nshort mantle which he wore, and flung it to him. But the mantle fell\ndirectly over the candle and extinguished the flame.\n\nThen Raniero remembered the woman who had borrowed a light of him. He\nturned back to her and had his candle lighted anew with sacred fire.\n\nWhen he was ready to ride farther, he said to her: \u201cYou say that the\nsacred flame which you must guard is the life of your children. Can you\ntell me what name this candle\u2019s flame bears, which I have carried over\nlong roads?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere was your candle lighted?\u201d asked the woman.\n\n\u201cIt was lighted at Christ\u2019s sepulchre,\u201d said Raniero.\n\n\u201cThen it can only be called Gentleness and Love of Humanity,\u201d said she.\n\nRaniero laughed at the answer. He thought himself a singular apostle of\nvirtues such as these.\n\n                  *       *       *       *       *\n\nRaniero rode forward between beautiful blue hills. He saw he was near\nFlorence. He was thinking that he must soon part with his light. He\nthought of his tent in Jerusalem, which he had left filled with\ntrophies, and the brave soldiers who were still in Palestine, and who\nwould be glad to have him take up the business of war once more, and\nbear them on to new conquests and honors.\n\nThen he perceived that he experienced no pleasure in thinking of this,\nbut that his thoughts were drawn in another direction.\n\nThen he realized for the first time that he was no longer the same man\nthat had gone from Jerusalem. The ride with the sacred flame had\ncompelled him to rejoice with all who were peaceable and wise and\ncompassionate, and to abhor the savage and warlike.\n\nHe was happy every time he thought of people who labored peacefully in\ntheir homes, and it occurred to him that he would willingly move into\nhis old workshop in Florence and do beautiful and artistic work.\n\n\u201cVerily this flame has recreated me,\u201d he thought. \u201cI believe it has made\na new man of me.\u201d\n\n                                   V\n\nIt was Eastertide when Raniero rode into Florence.\n\nHe had scarcely come in through the city gate\u2014riding backwards, with\nhis hood drawn down over his face and the burning candle in his\nhand\u2014when a beggar arose and shouted the customary \u201cPazzo, pazzo!\u201d\n\nAt this cry a street gamin darted out of a doorway, and a loafer, who\nhad had nothing else to do for a long time than to lie and gaze at the\nclouds, jumped to his feet. Both began shouting the same thing: \u201cPazzo,\npazzo!\u201d\n\nNow that there were three who shrieked, they made a good deal of noise\nand so woke up all the street urchins. They came rushing out from nooks\nand corners. As soon as they saw Raniero, in his torn coat, on the\nwretched horse, they shouted: \u201cPazzo, pazzo!\u201d\n\nBut this was only what Raniero was accustomed to. He rode quietly up the\nstreet, seeming: not to notice the shouters.\n\nThen they were not content with merely shouting, but one of them jumped\nup and tried to blow out the light. Raniero raised the candle on high,\ntrying at the same time to prod his horse, to escape the boys.\n\nThey kept even pace with him, and did everything they could to put out\nthe light.\n\nThe more he exerted himself to protect the flame the more excited they\nbecame. They leaped upon one another\u2019s backs, puffed their cheeks out,\nand blew. They flung their caps at the candle. It was only because they\nwere so numerous and crowded on one another that they did not succeed in\nquenching the flame.\n\nThis was the largest procession on the street. People stood at the\nwindows and laughed. No one felt any sympathy with a madman, who wanted\nto defend his candle flame. It was church hour, and many worshipers were\non their way to Mass. They, too, stopped and laughed at the sport.\n\nBut now Raniero stood upright in the saddle, so that he could shield the\ncandle. He looked wild. The hood had fallen back and they saw his face,\nwhich was wasted and pale, like a martyr\u2019s. The candle he held uplifted\nas high as he could.\n\nThe entire street was one great swarm of people. Even the older ones\nbegan to take part in the play. The women waved their head-shawls and\nthe men swung their caps. Every one worked to extinguish the light.\n\nRaniero rode under the vine-covered balcony of a house. Upon this stood\na woman. She leaned over the lattice-work, snatched the candle, and ran\nin with it. The woman was Francesca degli Uberti.\n\nThe whole populace burst into shrieks of laughter and shouts, but\nRaniero swayed in his saddle and fell to the street.\n\nAs soon as he lay there stricken and unconscious, the street was emptied\nof people.\n\nNo one wished to take charge of the fallen man. His horse was the only\ncreature that stopped beside him.\n\nAs soon as the crowds had got away from the street, Francesca degli\nUberti came out from her house, with the burning candle in her hand. She\nwas still pretty; her features were gentle, and her eyes were deep and\nearnest.\n\nShe went up to Raniero and bent over him. He lay senseless, but the\ninstant the candle light fell upon his face, he moved and roused\nhimself. It was apparent that the candle flame had complete power over\nhim. When Francesca saw that he had regained his senses, she said: \u201cHere\nis your candle. I snatched it from you, as I saw how anxious you were to\nkeep it burning. I knew of no other way to help you.\u201d\n\nRaniero had had a bad fall, and was hurt. But now nothing could hold him\nback. He began to raise himself slowly. He wanted to walk, but wavered,\nand was about to fall. Then he tried to mount his horse. Francesca\nhelped him. \u201cWhere do you wish to go?\u201d she asked when he sat in the\nsaddle again. \u201cI want to go to the cathedral,\u201d he answered. \u201cThen I\nshall accompany you,\u201d she said, \u201cfor I\u2019m going to Mass.\u201d And she led the\nhorse for him.\n\nFrancesca had recognized Raniero the very moment she saw him, but he did\nnot see who she was, for he did not take time to notice her. He kept his\ngaze fixed upon the candle flame alone.\n\nThey were absolutely silent all the way. Raniero thought only of the\nflame, and of guarding it well these last moments. Francesca could not\nspeak, for she felt she did not wish to be certain of that which she\nfeared. She could not believe but that Raniero had come home insane.\nAlthough she was almost certain of this, she would rather not speak with\nhim, in order to avoid any positive assurance.\n\nAfter a while Raniero heard some one weep near him. He looked around and\nsaw that it was Francesca degli Uberti, who walked beside him; and she\nwept. But Raniero saw her only for an instant, and said nothing to her.\nHe wanted to think only of the sacred flame.\n\nRaniero let her conduct him to the sacristy. There he dismounted. He\nthanked Francesca for her help, but looked all the while not upon her,\nbut on the light. He walked alone up to the priests in the sacristy.\n\nFrancesca went into the church. It was Easter Eve, and all the candles\nstood unlighted upon the altars, as a symbol of mourning. Francesca\nthought that every flame of hope which had ever burned within her was\nnow extinguished.\n\nIn the church there was profound solemnity. There were many priests at\nthe altar. The canons sat in a body in the chancel, with the bishop\namong them.\n\nBy and by Francesca noticed there was commotion among the priests.\nNearly all who were not needed to serve at Mass arose and went out into\nthe sacristy. Finally the bishop went, too.\n\nWhen Mass was over, a priest stepped up to the chancel railing and began\nto speak to the people. He related that Raniero di Raniero had arrived\nin Florence with sacred fire from Jerusalem. He narrated what the rider\nhad endured and suffered on the way. And he praised him exceeding much.\n\nThe people sat spellbound and listened to this. Francesca had never\nbefore experienced such a blissful moment. \u201cO God!\u201d she sighed, \u201cthis is\ngreater happiness than I can bear.\u201d Her tears fell as she listened.\n\nThe priest talked long and well. Finally he said in a strong, thrilling\nvoice: \u201cIt may perchance appear like a trivial thing now, that a candle\nflame has been brought to Florence. But I say to you: Pray God that He\nwill send Florence many bearers of Eternal Light; then she will become a\ngreat power, and be extolled as a city among cities!\u201d\n\nWhen the priest had finished speaking, the entrance doors of the church\nwere thrown open, and a procession of canons and monks and priests\nmarched up the center aisle toward the altar. The bishop came last, and\nby his side walked Raniero, in the same cloak that he had worn during\nthe entire journey.\n\nBut when Raniero had crossed the threshold of the cathedral, an old man\narose and walked toward him. It was Oddo, the father of the journeyman\nwho had once worked for Raniero, and had hanged himself because of him.\n\nWhen this man had come up to the bishop and Raniero, he bowed to them.\nThereupon he said in such a loud voice that all in the church heard him:\n\u201cIt is a great thing for Florence that Raniero has come with sacred fire\nfrom Jerusalem. Such a thing has never before been heard of or\nconceived. For that reason perhaps there may be many who will say that\nit is not possible. Therefore, I beg that all the people may know what\nproofs and witnesses Raniero has brought with him, to assure us that\nthis is actually fire which was lighted in Jerusalem.\u201d\n\nWhen Raniero heard this he said: \u201cGod help me! how can I produce\nwitnesses? I have made the journey alone. Deserts and mountain wastes\nmust come and testify for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cRaniero is an honest knight,\u201d said the bishop, \u201cand we believe him on\nhis word.\u201d\n\n\u201cRaniero must know himself that doubts will arise as to this,\u201d said\nOddo. \u201cSurely, he can not have ridden entirely alone. His little pages\ncould certainly testify for him.\u201d\n\nThen Francesca degli Uberti rushed up to Raniero. \u201cWhy need we\nwitnesses?\u201d said she. \u201cAll the women in Florence would swear on oath\nthat Raniero speaks the truth!\u201d\n\nThen Raniero smiled, and his countenance brightened for a moment.\nThereupon he turned his thoughts and his gaze once more upon the candle\nflame.\n\nThere was great commotion in the church. Some said that Raniero should\nnot be allowed to light the candles on the altar until his claim was\nsubstantiated. With this many of his old enemies sided.\n\nThen Jacopo degli Uberti rose and spoke in Raniero\u2019s behalf. \u201cI believe\nevery one here knows that no very great friendship has existed between\nmy son-in-law and me,\u201d he said; \u201cbut now both my sons and I will answer\nfor him. We believe he has performed this task, and we know that one who\nhas been disposed to carry out such an undertaking is a wise, discreet,\nand noble-minded man, whom we are glad to receive among us.\u201d\n\nBut Oddo and many others were not disposed to let him taste of the bliss\nhe was yearning for. They got together in a close group and it was easy\nto see that they did not care to withdraw their demand.\n\nRaniero apprehended that if this should develop into a fight, they would\nimmediately try to get at the candle. As he kept his eyes steadily fixed\nupon his opponents, he raised the candle as high as he could.\n\nHe looked exhausted in the extreme, and distraught. One could see that,\nalthough he wished to hold out to the very last, he expected defeat.\nWhat mattered it to him now if he were permitted to light the candles?\nOddo\u2019s word had been a death-blow. When doubt was once awakened, it\nwould spread and increase. He fancied that Oddo had already extinguished\nthe sacred flame forever.\n\nA little bird came fluttering through the great open doors into the\nchurch. It flew straight into Raniero\u2019s light. He hadn\u2019t time to snatch\nit aside, and the bird dashed against it and put out the flame.\n\nRaniero\u2019s arm dropped, and tears sprang to his eyes. The first moment he\nfelt this as a sort of relief. It was better thus than if human beings\nhad killed it.\n\nThe little bird continued its flight into the church, fluttering\nconfusedly hither and thither, as birds do when they come into a room.\n\nSimultaneously a loud cry resounded throughout the church: \u201cThe bird is\non fire! The sacred candle flame has set its wings on fire!\u201d\n\nThe little bird chirped anxiously. For a few moments it fluttered about,\nlike a flickering flame, under the high chancel arches. Then it sank\nsuddenly and dropped dead upon the Madonna\u2019s Altar.\n\nBut the moment the bird fell upon the Altar, Raniero was standing there.\nHe had forced his way through the church, no one had been able to stop\nhim. From the sparks which destroyed the bird\u2019s wings he lit the candles\nbefore the Madonna\u2019s Altar.\n\nThen the bishop raised his staff and proclaimed: \u201cGod willed it! God\nhath testified for him!\u201d\n\nAnd all the people in the church, both his friends and opponents,\nabandoned their doubts and conjectures. They cried as with one voice,\ntransported by God\u2019s miracle: \u201cGod willed it! God hath testified for\nhim!\u201d\n\nOf Raniero there is now only a legend, which says he enjoyed great good\nfortune for the remainder of his days, and was wise, and prudent, and\ncompassionate. But the people of Florence always called him Pazzo degli\nRanieri, in remembrance of the fact that they had believed him insane.\nAnd this became his honorary title. He founded a dynasty, which was\nnamed Pazzi, and is called so even to this day.\n\nIt might also be worth mentioning that it became a custom in Florence,\neach year at Easter Eve, to celebrate a festival in memory of Raniero\u2019s\nhome-coming with the sacred flame, and that, on this occasion, they\nalways let an artificial bird fly with fire through the church. This\nfestival would most likely have been celebrated even in our day had not\nsome changes taken place recently.\n\nBut if it be true, as many hold, that the bearers of sacred fire who\nhave lived in Florence and have made the city one of the most glorious\non earth, have taken Raniero as their model, and have thereby been\nencouraged to sacrifice, to suffer and endure, this may here be left\nuntold.\n\nFor what has been done by this light, which in dark times has gone out\nfrom Jerusalem, can neither be measured nor counted.\n\n                                THE END\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n                 THE HOME BOOK OF VERSE FOR YOUNG FOLKS\n\n               Compiled by Burton E. Stevenson, Editor of\n                       \u201cThe Home Book of Verse.\u201d\n\n     With cover, and illustrations in color and black and white by\n          WILLY POGANY. Over 500 pages, large 12mo. $2.00 net.\n\nNot a rambling, hap-hazard collection but a vade-mecum for youth from\nthe ages of six or seven to sixteen or seventeen. It opens with Nursery\nRhymes and lullabies, progresses through child rhymes and jingles to\nmore mature nonsense verse; then come fairy verses and Christmas poems;\nthen nature verse and favorite rhymed stories; then through the trumpet\nand drum period (where an attempt is made to teach true patriotism) to\nthe final appeal of \u201cLife Lessons\u201d and \u201cA Garland of Gold\u201d (the great\npoems for all ages).\n\nThis arrangement secures sequence of sentiment and a sort of cumulative\nappeal. Nearly all the children\u2019s classics are included, and along with\nthem a body of verse not so well known but almost equally deserving.\nThere are many real \u201cfinds,\u201d most of which have never before appeared in\nany anthology.\n\nMr. Stevenson has banished doleful and pessimistic verse, and has dwelt\non hope, courage, cheerfulness and helpfulness. The book should serve,\ntoo, as an introduction to the greater poems, informing taste for them\nand appreciation of them, against the time when the boy or girl, grown\ninto youth and maiden, is ready to swim out into the full current of\nEnglish poetry.\n\n                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY\n                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n                       LIFE-STORIES FOR THE YOUNG\n\nDean Hodges\u2019 SAINTS AND HEROES: To the End of the Middle Ages.\n\nIllustrated. $1.35 net.\n\nBiographies of Cyprian, Athanasius, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Jerome,\nAugustine, Benedict, Gregory the Great, Columba, Charlemagne,\nHildebrand, Anselm, Bernard, Becket, Langton, Dominic, Francis,\nWycliffe, Hus, Savonarola.\n\nEach of these men was a great person in his time, and represented its\nbest qualities. Their dramatic and adventurous experiences make the\nstory of their lives interesting as well as inspiring and suggestive.\n\nChurch history and doctrine are touched upon only as they develop in the\nbiographies.\n\n  \u201cHere is much important history told in a readable and attractive\n  manner, and from the standpoint which makes history most vivid and\n  most likely to remain fixed in memory, namely, the standpoint of the\n  individual actor.\u201d\u2014Springfield Republican.\n\nDean Hodges\u2019 SAINTS AND HEROES: Since the Middle Ages\n\nIllustrated. $1.35 net.\n\nThe new volume includes biographies of Luther, More, Loyola, Cranmer,\nCalvin, Knox, Coligny, William the Silent, Laud, Cromwell, Fox, Wesley,\nBunyan and Brewster.\n\nJohn Buchan\u2019s SIR WALTER RALEIGH\n\nWith double-page pictures in color; cover linings. Square\n\n12mo. Price, $2.00 net.\n\nA life of Raleigh told in eleven chapters. Each chapter covers some\nimportant scene in his life and is told by some friend or follower as if\nseen with his own eyes. Some of the characters are invented, but all\nthat they tell really happened.\n\nThe narrative has spirit, color, and atmosphere, and is unusually well\nwritten.\n\nAmerica figures largely in the story, and American boys will enjoy this\nbook.\n\n                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY\n                   PUBLISHERS    VIII\u201912    NEW YORK\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n                        By CARROLL WATSON RANKIN\n\n                  ------------------------------------\n\n                           STORIES FOR GIRLS\n\n                            THE CINDER POND\n              Illustrated by Ada C. Williamson. $1.25 net.\n\nYears ago, a manufacturer built a great dock, jutting out from and then\nturning parallel to the shore of a northern Michigan town. The factory\nwas abandoned, and following the habits of small towns, the space\nbetween the dock and the shore became \u201cThe Cinder Pond.\u201d Jean started\nlife in the colony of squatters that came to live in the shanties on the\ndock, but fortune, heroism, and a mystery combine to change her fortunes\nand those of her friends near the Cinder Pond.\n\n                     THE CASTAWAYS OF PETE\u2019S PATCH\n              Illustrated by Ada C. Williamson. $1.25 net.\n\nA tale of five girls and two youthful grown-ups who enjoyed\nunpremeditated camping.\n\n                           DANDELION COTTAGE\n             Illustrated by Mmes. Shinn and Finley. $1.50.\n\nFour young girls secure the use of a tumbledown cottage. They set up\nhousekeeping under numerous disadvantages, and have many amusements and\nqueer experiences.\n\n  \u201cA capital story. It is refreshing to come upon an author who can\n  tell us about real little girls, with sensible ordinary parents,\n  girls who are neither phenomenal nor silly.\u201d\u2014Outlook.\n\n                       THE ADOPTING OF ROSA MARIE\n   A sequel to \u201cDandelion Cottage.\u201d Illustrated by Mrs. Shinn. $1.50.\n\nThe little girls who played at keeping house in the earlier book,\nenlarge their activities to the extent of playing mother to a little\nIndian girl.\n\n  \u201cThose who have read \u2018Dandelion Cottage\u2019 will need no urging to\n  follow further.... A lovable group of four real children, happily not\n  perfect, but full of girlish plans and pranks.... A delightful sense\n  of humor.\u201d\u2014Boston Transcript.\n\n                        THE GIRLS OF GARDENVILLE\n               Illustrated by Mary Wellman. 12mo. $1.50.\n\nInteresting, amusing, and natural stories of a girls\u2019 club.\n\n  \u201cWill captivate as many adults as if it were written for them....\n  The secret of Mrs. Rankin\u2019s charm is her naturalness ... real\n  girls ... not young ladies with \u2018pigtails,\u2019 but girls of sixteen\n  who are not twenty-five ... as original as amusing.\u201d\u2014Boston Transcript.\n\n                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY\n                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n                            BOOKS FOR GIRLS\n                          By BEULAH MARIE DIX\n\n                           BETTY-BIDE-AT-HOME\n              Illustrated by Faith Avery. 12mo. $1.25 net.\n\nA story of family life. Betty is just ready for college, her brother is\nstudying medicine, her sister is almost able to make her own way in the\nworld, when a sudden catastrophe compels Betty to choose between her own\nambitions and her mother\u2019s happiness. Betty stays at home and learns\nmany things, among them the fact that duty and success can be combined.\nThe account of her literary ventures will help girls who want to write.\n\nBetty is a spirited, energetic, lovable girl. The style and atmosphere\nof the story are both better than is usually the case in girls\u2019 stories.\n\n                           FRIENDS IN THE END\n              Illustrated by Faith Avery. 12mo. $1.25 net.\n\nAn out-of-door story for girls which tells how Dorothea Marden went,\nunder protest, from the city to spend the summer at a farm in the New\nHampshire mountains; how she met Jo Gifford from South Tuxboro, who had\nred hair, and knew she shouldn\u2019t like her, but did; how Dorothea and Jo,\nat the farm, fell out with the young folks close by at Camp Comfort; how\nthey carried on the war, with varying success, and how they were sorry\nthat they did so, and how they were glad in the end to make peace.\n\n\u201cWill attract boys and girls equally and be good for both.\u201d\u2014Outlook.\n\n\u201cMore than the usual plot and literary completeness.\u201d\u2014Christian\nRegister.\n\n                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY\n                   PUBLISHERS    VIII\u201912    NEW YORK\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n                        BY ALICE CALHOUN HAINES\n                For Young Folks from 9 to 16 Years old.\n\n                  ------------------------------------\n\n                           PARTNERS FOR FAIR\n             With illustrations by Faith Avery. $1.25 net.\n\nA story full of action, not untinged by pathos, of a boy and his\nfaithful dog and their wanderings after the poorhouse burns down. They\nhave interesting experiences with a traveling circus; the boy is thrown\nfrom a moving train, and has a lively time with the Mexican Insurrectos,\nfrom whom he is rescued by our troops.\n\n                     THE LUCK OF THE DUDLEY GRAHAMS\n           Illustrated by Francis Day. 300 pp., 12mo. $1.50.\n\nA family story of city life. Lightened by humor and an airship.\n\n  \u201cAmong the very best of books for young folks. Appeals especially\n  to girls.\u201d\u2014Wisconsin List for Township Libraries.\n\n  \u201cPromises to be perennially popular. A family of happy, healthy,\n  inventive, bright children make the best of restricted conditions and\n  prove themselves masters of circumstances.\u201d\u2014Christian Register.\n\n  \u201cSparkles with cleverness and humor.\u201d\u2014Brooklyn Eagle.\n\n                           COCK-A-DOODLE HILL\n           A sequel to the above. Illustrated by Francis Day.\n                         296 pp., 12mo. $1.50.\n\n\u201cCockle-a-doodle Hill\u201d is where the Dudley Graham family went to live\nwhen they left New York, and here Ernie started her chicken-farm, with\none solitary fowl, \u201cHennerietta.\u201d The pictures of country scenes and the\nadventures and experiences of this household of young people are very\nlife-like.\n\n  \u201cNo better book for young people than \u2018The Luck of the Dudley\n  Grahams\u2019 was offered last year. \u2018Cock-a-Doodle Hill\u2019 is another\n  of similar qualities.\u201d\u2014Philadelphia Press.\n\n                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY\n                  PUBLISHERS    (VIII\u201912)    NEW YORK\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n                   COMPANION STORIES OF COUNTRY LIFE\n                  FOR BOYS        By CHARLES P. BURTON\n\n                  ------------------------------------\n\n                         THE BOYS OF BOB\u2019S HILL\n            Illustrated by George A. Williams. 12mo. $1.25.\n\nA lively story of a party of boys in a small New England town.\n\n  \u201cA first-rate juvenile ... a real story for the live human boy\u2014any\n  boy will read it eagerly to the end ... quite thrilling adventures.\u201d\n  \u2014Chicago Record-Herald.\n\n  \u201cTom Sawyer would have been a worthy member of the Bob\u2019s Hill\n  crowd and shared their good times and thrilling adventures with\n  uncommon relish.... A jolly group of youngsters as nearly true to\n  the real thing in boy nature as one can ever expect to find between\n  covers.\u201d\u2014Christian Register.\n\n                          THE BOB\u2019S CAVE BOYS\n                  Illustrated by Victor Perard. $1.50.\n\n  \u201cIt would be hard to find anything better in the literature of New\n  England boy life. Healthy, red-blooded, human boys, full of fun,\n  into trouble and out again, but frank, honest, and clean.\u201d\n  \u2014The Congregationalist.\n\n                         THE BOB\u2019S HILL BRAVES\n                Illustrated by H. S. DeLay. 12mo. $1.50.\n\nThe \u201cBob\u2019s Hill\u201d band spend a vacation in Illinois, where they play at\nbeing Indians, hear thrilling tales of real Indians, and learn much\nfrontier history. A history of especial interest to \u201cBoy Scouts.\u201d\n\n  \u201cMerry youngsters. Capital. Thrilling tales of the red men and\n  explorers. These healthy red-blooded, New England boys.\u201d\n  \u2014Philadelphia Press.\n\n                      THE BOY SCOUTS OF BOB\u2019S HILL\n             Illustrated by Gordon Grant. 12mo. $1.25 net.\n\nThe \u201cBob\u2019s Hill\u201d band organizes a Boy Scouts band and have many\nadventures. Mr. Burton brings in tales told around a camp-fire of La\nSalle, Joliet, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Northwestern Reservation.\n\n                            CAMP BOB\u2019S HILL\n                Illustrated by Gordon Grant. $1.25 net.\n\nA tale of Boy Scouts on their summer vacation.\n\n                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY\n                         PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n                    SHORT PLAYS ABOUT FAMOUS AUTHORS\n\n        (Goldsmith, Dickens, Heine, Fannie Burney, Shakespeare)\n\n                  By Maude Morrison Frank. $1.00 net.\n\nThe Mistake at the Manor shows the fifteen-year-old Goldsmith in the\nmidst of the humorous incident in his life which later formed the basis\nof \u201cShe Stoops to Conquer.\u201d\n\nA Christmas Eve With Charles Dickens reveals the author as a poor\nfactory boy in a lodging-house, dreaming of an old-time family\nChristmas.\n\nWhen Heine was Twenty-one dramatizes the early disobedience of the\nauthor in writing poetry against his uncle\u2019s orders.\n\nMiss Burney at Court deals with an interesting incident in the life of\nthe author of \u201cEvelina\u201d when she was at the Court of George III.\n\nThe Fairies\u2019 Plea, which is an adaptation of Thomas Hood\u2019s poem, shows\nShakespeare intervening to save the fairies from the scythe of Time.\n\nDesigned in general for young people near enough to the college age to\nfeel an interest in the personal and human aspects of literature, but\nthe last two could easily be handled by younger actors. They can\nsuccessfully be given by groups or societies of young people without the\naid of a professional coach.\n\n                   LITTLE PLAYS FROM AMERICAN HISTORY\n                            FOR YOUNG FOLKS\n\n                 By Alice Johnstone Walker. $1.00 net.\n\nHiding the Regicides, a number of brief and stirring episodes,\nconcerning the pursuit of Colonels Whalley and Goff by the officers of\nCharles II at New Haven in old colony days.\n\nMrs. Murray\u2019s Dinner Party, in three acts, is a lively comedy about a\nPatriot hostess and British Officers in Revolutionary Days.\n\nScenes from Lincoln\u2019s Time; the martyred President does not himself\nappear. They cover Lincoln\u2019s helping a little girl with her trunk, women\npreparing lint for the wounded, a visit to the White House of an\nimportant delegation from New York, and of the mother of a soldier boy\nsentenced to death\u2014and the coming of the army of liberation to the\ndarkies.\n\nTho big events are touched upon, the mounting of all these little plays\nis simplicity itself, and they have stood the test of frequent school\nperformance.\n\n                         HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY\n                         Publishers    New York","title":"Christ Legends","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":54784}