{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_53795/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_53795","id":"gutenberg_53795","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53795","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. New Testament -- History of Biblical events -- Fiction","Biographical fiction","Category: Historical Novels","Category: History - Ancient","Category: Novels","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian fiction","Jesus Christ -- Fiction"],"text":"New Sabbath Library.  Vol. 1. No. 7. October, 1898.  Single Copy, 5 Cents.\n                        Monthly, 60 cents per year.\n\n\n  The PRINCE of the\n  HOUSE of DAVID\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  BY\n\n  REV J. H. INGRAHAM\n\n  DAVID C. COOK Publishing Co.\n  36 WASHINGTON ST. CHICAGO  ELGIN ILL\n\n\n  [Entered at the Post Office at Elgin, Ill., as Second Class Mail Matter.]\n\n\n\n\nFAMOUS BOOKS AT POPULAR PRICES\n\n\n  The New Sabbath Library.\n  A MONTHLY PUBLICATION.\n\n  Subscription Price, 60 Cents a Year.  Single Copies, 5 Cents.\n\n[Illustration: Titus: a Comrade of the Cross]\n\n[Illustration: The Wrestler of Philippi]\n\nTo meet the growing demand for pure literature at popular prices, we\nbegan in April, 1898, the issue of a monthly publication entitled the\n=New Sabbath Library=. The success of these issues has proved to be\nunprecedented, and they have attained an almost world-wide celebrity.\nAlthough appealing particularly to young people, they will interest all\nlovers of good and wholesome literature, whether young or old.\n\nEach issue of the =New Sabbath Library= contains a complete story,\nmost of them written expressly for us and copyrighted. The books are\nof uniform style and size (6\u00bd\u00d78\u00bd), each containing 96 large pages in\ndouble column. They are in large, clear type, handsomely printed on\ngood book paper, and fully illustrated with fine half-tone engravings.\nThe covers are of heavy, white enameled paper, with beautifully\nengraved designs.\n\n=Prices.=--Those who wish to procure this Library regularly, as it is\npublished each month, may remit =60 cents= for a year's subscription,\nbeing particular to state with which issue the subscription is to\ncommence. Single copies may be ordered of any or all of the books at\nthe rate of =5 cents= each, or any number of copies of any one book\nwill be sent at same rate. We prepay postage.\n\n=Cloth Editions.=--We have also prepared special editions of all\nthese books, printed on very heavy paper, beautifully bound in heavy\ncovers, cloth backs and corners, ornamented sides. They are specially\nadapted for presentation purposes, and are the largest and best books\never offered for so low a price. Sent postpaid to any address, in any\nquantities desired, on receipt of price, =25 cents= per copy.\n\nFollowing is a list of books already issued, or about to be issued:\n\n\nNo. 1. April, 1898.\n\nA Devotee and a Darling\n\nBY BECCA MIDDLETON SAMSON.\n\nThis book received the second prize of $500 from manuscripts submitted\nto the publishers in competition during the year 1897.\n\nFannie, an impulsive girl of sixteen, bereft of her mother, becomes\ndevotedly attached to Church work and to the study of her Bible. She\nmakes many blunders and is severely tried at home. At last, in a manner\nboth strange and startling, Fannie's eyes are opened to see her own\nmistaken life.\n\n\nNo. 2. May, 1898.\n\nThe Wrestler of Philippi\n\nBY FANNIE E. NEWBERRY.\n\nA tale of the times of the early followers of Jesus, and how they lived\nthe \"Christ-life\" in the first century. As \"Titus\" gave the reader a\npicture of the life and times of Christ, so this book is intended to\nportray the life and times of the early Church.\n\nThe plot is fascinating--a story for both young and old. Its Oriental\nsetting, description of quaint customs, manners, beliefs, etc., give it\na peculiar interest and attractiveness all its own.\n\n\nNo. 3. June, 1898.\n\nTitus: a Comrade of the Cross\n\nBY FLORENCE M. KINGSLEY.\n\nThe publishers of this book, desiring to secure a life of Christ of\nsuperior merit and special character, offered a prize of $1,000 for the\nbest manuscript submitted. The committee decided in favor of \"TITUS.\"\nIt was an immediate success, over one million copies having been sold.\nIt is one of the grandest books of the century, and has attracted\ngreater attention than any other book published in this country during\nthe past twenty years.\n\n\nNo. 4. July, 1898.\n\nOut of the Triangle\n\nBY MARY E. BAMFORD.\n\nThis is a story of the days of persecution of Christians under the\nEmperor Septimius Severus. The scene is mainly laid in Alexandria and\nthe Libyan Desert. The Egyptian gods were worshiped under the form of\na small triangular stone. The book relates in a vivid and intensely\ninteresting manner the narrow escapes of an Egyptian lad who has become\na Christian, and the manner in which his family accept his faith and\nescape from Alexandria.\n\n(CONTINUED ON THIRD PAGE COVER)\n\n\n\n\nTHE PRINCE OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID.\n\n_By REV. J. H. INGRAHAM._\n\n\nCopyright, 1898, by David C. Cook Publishing Company.\n\n\nDavid C. Cook Publishing Company, Elgin, Ill., and 36 Washington St.,\nChicago.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n  PREFACE.\n  LETTER I.\n  LETTER II.\n  LETTER III.\n  LETTER IV.\n  LETTER V.\n  LETTER VI.\n  LETTER VII.\n  LETTER VIII.\n  LETTER IX.\n  LETTER X.\n  LETTER XI.\n  LETTER XII.\n  LETTER XIII.\n  LETTER XIV.\n  LETTER XV.\n  LETTER XVI.\n  LETTER XVII.\n  LETTER XVIII.\n  LETTER XIX.\n  LETTER XX.\n  LETTER XXI.\n  LETTER XXII.\n  LETTER XXIII.\n  LETTER XXIV.\n  LETTER XXV.\n  LETTER XXVI.\n  LETTER XXVII.\n  LETTER XXVIII.\n  LETTER XXIX.\n  LETTER XXX.\n  LETTER XXXI.\n  LETTER XXXII.\n  LETTER XXXIII.\n  LETTER XXXIV.\n  LETTER XXXV.\n  LETTER XXXVI.\n  LETTER XXXVII.\n  LETTER XXXVIII.\n  LETTER XXXIX.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThe \"Prince of the House of David,\" written by Rev. Mr. Ingraham,\nneeds no recommendation. Its fame has been, long since, established,\nand its fascination has already held sway over multitudes of delighted\nreaders. Recognizing fully its merits, the publishers of this edition\ndecided to put it in the way of a still greater circulation; and in\norder to facilitate this, it has been thoroughly revised and in parts\nre-written, all unnecessary repetition appearing in the original\nedition of the book being omitted.\n\nAdina, the suppositious writer of the following letters, is the\ndaughter of a Jew who resides in Alexandria, Egypt. She has come to\nJerusalem during the most stirring period of earth's history, and, from\nthence, for the period of three years, she keeps her father apprized of\nthe marvelous events occurring about her during that time.\n\n                                                        THE PUBLISHERS.\n\n\n\n\nLETTERS FROM ADINA.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER I.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nMy first duty, as it is my highest pleasure, is to comply with your\ncommand to write you as soon as I should arrive at Jerusalem, and this\nletter, while it conveys intelligence of my arrival, will confirm to\nyou my filial obedience.\n\nMy journey hither occupied many days. When we traveled in sight of\nthe sea, which we did for three days, I enjoyed the majesty of the\nprospect, it seemed so like the sky stretched out upon the earth.\nI also had the good fortune to see several ships, which the Rabbi\ninformed me were Roman galleys, bound some to Sidon, and others into\nthe Nile; and after one of these latter, as it was going to you, I sent\na prayer and a wish. Just as we were leaving the sea-shore to turn off\ninto the desert, I saw a wrecked vessel. It looked so helpless and\nbulky, with its huge black body all out of the water, that it seemed\nto me like a great sea-monster, stranded and dying; and I felt like\npitying it. How terrible a tempest must be upon the sea! I was in hopes\nto have seen a Leviathan, but was not gratified in the wish. The good\nRabbi, who seemed to know all about these things, told me that they\nseldom appear now in the Middle Sea, but are seen beyond the pillar of\nHercules at the world's end.\n\nAt Gaza we stopped two days, and from thence we proceeded over-land to\nour destination.\n\nThe morning of the last day of our journey but one, having lost our way\nand wandered many hours eastwardly, we caught sight of the Sea of Sodom\nand Gomorrah, at a great distance to the east. How my pulse quickened\nat beholding that fearful spot! I seemed to see in imagination the\nheavens on fire above it, and the flames and smoke ascending as from a\ngreat furnace, as on that fearful day when they were destroyed, with\nall that beautiful surrounding plain, which we are told was one vast\ngarden of beauty. How calm and still lay now that sluggish sea beneath\na cloudless sky! We held it in sight many hours, and once caught a\nglimpse of the Jordan north of it, looking like a silver thread; yet\nnear as it appeared to be, I was told it was a good day's journey for a\ncamel to reach its shores.\n\nAfter losing sight of this melancholy lake, our way lay along a narrow\nvalley for some time, and the next day, on reaching an eminence,\nJerusalem appeared, as if risen out of the earth.\n\nI cannot, my dear father, describe to you my emotions on beholding the\nHoly City! They have been experienced by millions of our people--they\nwere similar to your own as you related them to me. All the past,\nwith its mighty men who walked with Jehovah, rushed to my memory, and\ncompelled me to bow my head, and worship and adore at the sight of the\nTemple, where God once (alas, why does he no longer visit earth and his\nholy house?) dwelt in the flaming Shechinah, and made known the oracles\nof his will.\n\nWe entered the city just before the sixth hour of the evening, and were\nsoon at the house of our relative, Amos, the Levite. I was received as\nif I had a daughter's claim to their embraces; and with the luxuries\nwith which they surrounded me in my gorgeously furnished apartments.\nI am sure my kinsfolk here mean to tempt me to forget the joys of the\ndear home I have left.\n\nThe Rabbi Amos and his family all desire to be commended to you. He\nseems to be a man of piety and benevolence, and greatly loves his\nchildren. I have been once to the Temple. Its outer court seemed like\na vast caravanserai or market-place, being thronged with the men who\nsell animals for sacrifice, which crowded all parts. Thousands of doves\nin large cages were sold on one side, and on another were stalls for\nlambs, sheep, calves and oxen, the noise and bleating of which, with\nthe confusion of tongues, made the place appear like anything else than\nthe Temple of Jehovah. It appears like desecration to use the Temple\nthus, dear father, and seems to show a want of that holy love of God's\nhouse that once characterized our ancestors. On reaching the women's\ncourt I was sensible of being in the Temple, by the magnificence\nwhich surrounded me. With what awe I bowed my head in the direction\nof the Holy of Holies! I never felt before so near to God! Clouds of\nincense floated above the heads of the multitude, and rivers of blood\nflowed down the marble steps of the altar of burnt offering. Alas! how\nmany innocent victims bleed every morning and evening for the sins\nof Israel! What a sea of blood has been poured out in ages that have\npassed! What a strange, fearful mystery, that the blood of an innocent\nlamb should atone for sins I have done! There must be some deeper\nmeaning in these sacrifices, dear father, yet unrevealed to us.\n\nAs I was returning from the Temple I met many persons, who seemed to be\ncrowding out of the gate on some unusual errand. I have since learned\nthat they were going to see a very extraordinary man--a true prophet of\nGod, it is believed by many, who dwells in the wilderness eastward near\nJordan, and who preaches with power unknown in the land since the days\nof Elijah and Elisha. I hope he is a true prophet of heaven, and that\nGod is once more about to remember Israel, but the days of the Prophets\nhave long passed away, and I fear this man is only an enthusiast.\n\nFarewell, dear father, and let us ever pray for the glory of Israel.\n\n                                                Your affectionate,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER II.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nThe street in which we dwell is elevated, and from the roof of the\nhouse, where I love to walk in the evening, watching the stars that\nhang over Egypt, there is commanded a wide prospect of the Holy City.\n\nYesterday morning I was early on the house-top, to behold the first\ncloud of the day-dawn sacrifice rise from the bosom of the Temple.\nWhen I had turned my gaze towards the sacred summit, I was awed by\nthe profound silence which reigned over the vast pile that crowned\nMount Moriah. The sun was not yet risen; but the east blushed with a\nroseate purple, and the morning star was melting into its depth. Night\nand silence still held united empire over the city and the altar of\nGod. I was awe-silent. I stood with my hands crossed upon my bosom\nand my head reverently bowed, for in the absence of man and his voice\nI believed angels were all around in heavenly hosts, the guardian\narmies of this wondrous city of David. Lances of light now shot upward\nand across the purple sea in the East, and fleeces of clouds, that\nreposed upon it like barks, catching the red rays of the yet unrisen\nsun, blazed like burning ships. Each moment the darkness fled, and the\nsplendor of the dawn increased; and when I expected to see the sun\nappear over the battlemented heights of Mount Moriah, I was thrilled by\nthe startling peal of the trumpets of the priests; a thousand silver\ntrumpets blown at once from the walls of the Temple, and shaking the\nvery foundations of the city with their mighty voice. Instantly the\nhouse-tops everywhere around were alive with worshipers. Jerusalem\nstarted, as one man, from its slumbers, and, with their faces towards\nthe Temple, a hundred thousand men of Israel stood waiting. A second\ntrumpet peal, clear and musical as the voice of God when he spake to\nour father Moses in Horeb, caused every knee to bend, and every tongue\nto join in the morning song of praise. The murmur of voices was like\nthe continuous roll of the surge upon the beach, and the walls of\nthe lofty Temple echoed it back. Simultaneously with the billow-like\nswell of the adoring hymn, I beheld a pillar of black smoke ascend\nfrom the midst of the Temple, and spread itself above the court like a\ncanopy. It was accompanied by a blue wreath of lighter and more misty\nappearance, which threaded in and out and entwined about the other,\nlike a silvery strand woven into a sable cord. This latter was the\nsmoke of the incense which accompanied the burnt sacrifice. As I saw it\nrise higher and higher, and finally overtop the heavy cloud, which was\ninstantly enlarged by volumes of dense smoke that rolled upward from\nthe consuming victim, and slowly disappeared, melting into heaven, I\nalso kneeled, remembering that on the wings of the incense went up the\nprayers of the people; and ere it dissolved wholly, I entrusted to it,\ndear father, prayers for thee and me.\n\nThe evening sacrifice is, if possible, more imposing than that of\nthe morning. Just as the sun dips beyond the hill of Gibeah, there\nis heard a prolonged note of a trumpet blown from one of the western\nwatch-towers of Zion. Its mellow tones reach farthest ear within the\ngates of the city. All labor at once ceases. Every man raises his face\ntowards the summit of the house of God. A deep pause, as if all held\ntheir breath in expectation, succeeds. Suddenly the very skies seem\nto be riven and shaken with the thunder of the company of trumpeters\nthat rolls wave on wave of sound, from the battlements of the Temple.\nThe dark cloud of sacrifice ascends in solemn grandeur, and, sometimes\nheavier than the evening air, falls like a descending curtain around\nthe Mount, till the whole is veiled from sight; but above it is seen to\nsoar the purer incense to the invisible Jehovah, followed by a myriad\neyes, and the utterance of a nation's prayers. As the daylight faded,\nthe light of the altar, hidden from us by the lofty walls of the outer\ncourt of the Temple, blazed high and beacon-like, and lent a wild\nsolemnity to the towers and pinnacles that crowned Moriah.\n\n[Illustration: PANORAMA OF JERUSALEM]\n\nThere was, however, my dear father, last evening, one thing which\npainfully marred the holy character of the sacred hour. After the\nblast of the silver trumpets of the Levites had ceased, and while all\nhearts and eyes were ascending to Jehovah with the mounting wreaths\nof incense, there came from the Roman castle adjoining the city of\nDavid, a loud martial clangor of brazen bugles, and other barbarian\nwar instruments of music, while a smoke, like the smoke of sacrifice,\nrose from the heights of David's fortified hill. I was told that it was\nthe Romans engaged in worshiping Jupiter. Alas! How truly now are the\nprophecies fulfilled, which are to be found in the Lamentations: \"The\nLord hath cast off his altar, he hath given up into the hands of the\nenemy the walls of her palaces: they have made a noise in the house of\nthe Lord, as in the day of a solemn feast.\" For these things I weep, my\ndear father.\n\nNearly three hundred years have passed since we have had a\nprophet--that divine and youthful Malachi. Since his day, Rabbi Amos\nconfesses that Jehovah has made no sign of having heard the prayers\nor heeded the sacrifices that have been offered to him in his time.\nI inquired of the intelligent Rabbi if it would always be thus. He\nreplied that when Shiloh came, there would be a restoration of all\nthings--that the glory of Jerusalem then would fill the whole earth\nwith the splendor of the sun, and that all nations should come up from\nthe ends of the world to worship in the Temple.\n\nMy conversation with Rabbi Amos, dear father, led me to examine the\nBook of the Prophet Malachi. I find that after plainly alluding to our\npresent shame, and reproaching the priests \"for causing the people to\nstumble,\" he thus prophesies: \"Behold, I will send my messenger, and\nhe shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall\nsuddenly come to his Temple, and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier\nof silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as\ngold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in\nrighteousness. Behold,\" adds the divine seer, \"I will send you Elijah\nthe prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the\nLord.\"\n\nThese words I read to-day to Rabbi Amos--indeed I was reading them\nwhen Rabbi Ben Israel came in to say that he departs to-morrow.\nThe excellent Amos looked grave. I feared I had offended him by my\nboldness, and, approaching him, was about to embrace him, when I saw\ntears were sparkling in his eyes. He took my hand, and smiling, while\na glittering drop danced down his snow-white beard and broke into\nliquid diamonds upon my hand, he said, \"You have done no wrong, child;\nsit down by me and be at peace with thyself. It is too true, in this\nday, what the Prophet Malachi writeth, O Ben Israel,\" he said sadly to\nthe Alexandrian Rabbi. \"The priests of the Temple have indeed become\ncorrupt, save a few here and there. It must have been at this day the\nprophet aimed his words. Save in the outward form, I fear the great\nbody of our Levites have little more true religion and just knowledge\nof the one God Jehovah, than the priests of the Roman idolatry. Alas, I\nfear me, God regards our sacrifices with no more favor than he looks\nupon theirs. To-day, while I was in the Temple, and was serving at the\naltar with the priests, these words of Isaiah came into my thoughts\nand would not be put aside: 'To what purpose is the multitude of your\nsacrifices unto me? saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt offerings\nof rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of\nbullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. Bring no more vain oblations;\nincense is an abomination unto me; I am weary to bear them; yea, when\nye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye\nmake many prayers I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. Wash\nyou; make you clean. Cease to do evil; learn to do well.'\"\n\n\"I have noticed,\" said Ben Israel, \"that there is less reverence now in\nthe Temple than when I was in Jerusalem a young man; but I find that\nthe magnificence of the ceremonies is increased.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" responded Rabbi Amos, with a look of sorrow, \"yes, as the soul\nof piety dies out from within, they gild the outside. The increased\nrichness of the worship is copied from the Romans. So low are we\nfallen! Our worship, with all its gorgeousness, is as a sepulchre\nwhite-washed to conceal the rottenness within!\"\n\nYou may be convinced, my dear father, that this confession, from such a\nsource, deeply humbled me. If, then, we are not worshiping God, what do\nwe worship? Naught! We are worse off than our barbarian conquerors, for\nwe have no God; while they at least have gods many and lords many, such\nas they are.\n\nSince writing the last line I have been interrupted by Mary, who has\nbrought to see me a youth, nephew of a noble Jewish ruler, who was\nslain by the Romans for his patriotic devotion to his country. He\ndwells near the Gaza gate, with his widowed mother, who is a noble\nlady, honored by all. Between this young man, whose name is John, and\nMary, there exists a beautiful attachment, which is each day ripening\ninto the deepest emotion. He has just returned from the vicinity\nof Jericho, where he has been for some days past, drawn thither by\ncuriosity to see and hear the new prophet, who is drawing thousands\ninto the wilderness, to listen to the eloquence that flows from his\nmouth. The young man had been giving Mary so interesting an account of\nhim that she desired me also to be a listener. In my next I will write\nyou all I heard.\n\n                           Your affectionate and devoted daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER III.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nThis morning, as I was coming from the Temple, I noticed a vast pile\nof edifices crowning the opposite rock, which I was told was the Tower\nof Antonia. It seemed to frown sternly upon the Temple; and upon its\nbattlements glittered, at intervals, numerous Roman eagles. I had so\noften heard you relate historical events connected with this celebrated\ncastle, that I regarded it with peculiar interest. You seemed to stand\nby my side as I gazed upon it. The insolence and power of the Roman\ngarrison have made the beautiful walk about the base of the tower\nalmost deserted; but of this I was not aware; and, attended only by\nmy Ethiopian slave, Onia, I lingered to admire the splendor of the\ncloister once surrounding the treasure-house of the Temple, with its\nterraces supported by white marble pillars, fifteen cubits high, when\ntwo Roman soldiers approached. It was then that I saw I was alone. I\ndrew my veil closely, and would have passed them rapidly, when one of\nthem placed himself in my path, and catching hold of my veil, tried\nto detain me. I left it in his grasp and was flying, when the other\nsoldier arrested me. This was in full view of the castle, and at my\nshrieks the barbarians in the castle laughed aloud. At this crisis\nappeared a young centurion, who was on horseback, coming down the\nrocky path that ascends the Rock of Zion, and shouting to them, he\ngalloped forward, and with his sword put the men to immediate flight\nand rescued me. In order to escort me safely to the streets below, he\nalighted from his horse, and leading him by the rein, walked by my\nside. I confess to you, dear father, I had not reached the house of my\nrelative before my prejudices against the Romans were greatly modified.\nI had found in one of them as courteous a person as I had ever met with\namong my own countrymen, and for his sake I was willing to think better\nof his barbaric land and people.\n\n[Illustration: TOWER OF ANTONIA]\n\nWhile I was writing the above, a commotion without drew me to the\nlattice, which overlooks the street that goes out of the gate to\nBethany, one of the most frequented thoroughfares in the city. The\nsight that met my eyes was truly imposing, but made my heart sink with\nshame. It was a pageant, with banners, eagles, trumpets and gilded\nchariots, but not the pageant of a king of Israel, like those which\ndazzled the streets of Jerusalem in the days of Solomon and King\nDavid; not the triumphant passage of an Israelitish prince, but of the\nRoman governor. Preceded by a cohort of horse, he rode in a gilded\nwar-chariot, lolling at his ease beneath a silken shade of blue silk,\nfringed with gold. The horses were snowy-white, and covered with silver\nmail, and adorned with plumes. He was followed by another body of\ncavalry, and at the head of them, looking more like a ruler and prince\nthan did the indolent Pilate, I beheld the generous centurion who had\naided my escape from the two soldiers. His eye sought the lattice at\nwhich I stood, and I drew back, but not before he had seen me and\nsaluted me. Certainly, father, this youth is noble and courteous enough\nto be a Jew, and should any providence cause us to meet again, I shall\ntry to convert him from his idolatry to serve the living Jehovah.\n\nYou will remember, dear father, that I alluded to an excitement that is\nincreasing every day, in reference to a new prophet, who is preaching\nin the wilderness of Jericho. For three weeks past several parties of\ncitizens have been to the valley of Jordan to see and hear him, and\nhave so far been carried away by him as to have been baptized of him\nin Jordan, confessing their sins. Among them is John, the cousin and\nbetrothed of Mary. Upon his return we saw that his countenance was\nanimated beyond its wont, for he is usually of a sad and gentle aspect,\nand that his fine eyes beamed with an ardent hope, that seemed new-born\nto his soul. He thus recounted to us his visit to the prophet of Jordan:\n\n\"After leaving the gate of the city I soon reached the pretty town of\nBethpage, where, at the inn, I beheld several horsemen just mounting,\nto go in the direction of Jericho. On joining the cavalcade, I learned\nthey were for the most part drawn out of Jerusalem on the same errand\nwith myself. One of them, a wealthy young noble of Arimathea, was\nactuated by the same holy desire that burned in my bosom, a desire\nthat we might, in the prophet who was called John, discover a man sent\nfrom God. The others were bent on commerce, on pleasure, or mere idle\ncuriosity. As Joseph of Arimathea and I rode together, we conversed\nabout the man we expected to see. My companion seemed to believe that\nhe was a true prophet, for being very well read in the Scriptures, he\nsaid that the seventy weeks of Daniel were now about completed, when\nthe Messiah was to come! I then asked him if he believed that the\nMessiah, who was to be a 'Prince and king and have dominion from the\nsea to the ends of the earth,' would come in the wilderness, clad in\nthe skin of wild beasts? To this he replied that he could not regard\nthis prophet as the Messiah, for when the Christ should come, he was\n'suddenly to come to the Temple,' and that we should doubtless first\nsee him there; but that he was greatly in hopes that the prophet we\nwere going to see would prove to be the forerunner, foretold by Malachi.\n\n\"'Those who heard him,' said Joseph, as we rode into the village of\nBethany, 'say that he publicly proclaims himself the forerunner of the\nMessiah. The opinion of the more ignorant who have listened to him, is\nthat it is Elijah himself, returned to the earth. Others assert that\nit is Enoch come down from heaven, and not a few believe him to be\nIsaiah.'\"\n\nAt this point of the narrative of the cousin of Mary, dear father, I\nwill close this letter. In my next I will resume his narrative, for\nwhen I have given it to you wholly, I have many things to ask you to\nwhich it gives rise in my mind. May the blessing of the God of Israel\nbe upon thee, my dearest father!\n\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER IV.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nI have had the pleasure to-day, not only of hearing from you, but of\nbeing assured of your continued welfare. The messages of parental\naffection contained in your letter are cherished in my heart.\n\nYou need not fear, my dear father, that I shall be carried away from\nthe faith of Israel by any strange doctrines. I will take counsel by\nyour wisdom, and be cautious how I venture in my inquiries upon sacred\nground.\n\nIn my last letter I commenced giving you the narrative of John, with\nwhich I shall now proceed.\n\n\"Having passed out of the city of Jericho, my friend of Arimathea and\nmyself crossed the plain toward Jordan. The morning was balmy; the sun\nmade all nature glad. The dew reflected a myriad lesser suns, and the\nearth appeared strewn with diamonds. For a little way the road lay\nbetween fields of corn and gardens, but soon it crossed the open plain,\non which were droves of wild asses, which lifted their small, spirited\nheads on our approach, eyed us with timid curiosity, and then bounded\noff to the wilderness southward with the speed of antelopes. As the\ngreat body of the people took their way obliquely across the plain,\nwe knew the prophet must be in that direction. We at length found him\non the banks of Jordan, below the landing and ford, which is opposite\nJericho, on the great caravan road to Balbec.\n\n\"We drew near a dark mass of human beings which we had beheld afar\noff, assembled around a small eminence near the river. Upon it, raised\na few cubits taller than their heads, stood a man upon whom all eyes\nwere fixed, and to whose words every ear was attentive. His clear,\nrich, earnest tones had reached us as we approached, before we could\ndistinguish what he said. He was a young man not above thirty, with\na countenance such as the medallions of Egypt give to Joseph of our\nnation, once their prince. His hair was long, and wildly free about his\nneck; he wore a loose sack of camel's hair, and his right arm was naked\nto the shoulder. His attitude was as free and commanding as that of a\nCaucasian warrior, yet every gesture was gentle and graceful. With all\nhis ringing and persuasive eloquence there was an air of the deepest\nhumility upon his countenance, combined with an expression of the\nholiest enthusiasm. His theme was the Messiah.\n\n\"'Oh, Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by\nthine iniquity,' he was saying as we came up, as if in continuation of\nwhat had gone before. 'Take with you words, and turn unto the Lord,\nand say unto him: Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously.\nBehold, he cometh who will heal your backsliding, and will love you\nfreely. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name\nof the Lord shall be delivered, for beside him there is no Savior.'\n\n\"'Of whom speaketh the prophet these things?' asked one who stood near\nme.\n\n\"'Of Messiah--listen!' answered him a Scribe near, as if not pleased to\nhave his attention interrupted by this side talk. 'His words are plain.\nHear him.'\n\n\"'Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, for the day of the Lord cometh,'\ncontinued the prophet, in a voice like that of a silver trumpet; 'for,\nbehold, the day is at hand when I will bring again the captivity of\nJudah. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. The day is at\nhand when the Lord shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice from\nJerusalem.'\n\n\"'Art thou not Elias?' asked one aloud.\n\n\"'I am he of whom it is written. The voice of one crying in the\nwilderness, make straight a highway for our God. The day of the Lord is\nat hand. I am but the herald who is sent before to prepare the way of\nthe Lord.'\n\n\"'Art thou not the Messiah?' asked a woman who stood near him, and\nseemed to worship his very lips.\n\n\"'He who cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not\nworthy to bear,' he responded, in an exultant tone, strangely at\nvariance with his words. 'Therefore, repent ye, repent ye, take words\nand return unto the Lord our God. Repent and be baptized for the\nremission of your sins.' Then he added, turning to some of the priests,\n'Behold, even now is the axe laid unto the root of the trees; every\ntree, therefore, that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and\ncast into the fire.'\n\n\"'Master,' said a Levite, 'dost thou speak these things to us, who are\nof Israel, or to these Gentiles and Samaritans?' for there were not a\nfew Roman soldiers among the multitude, drawn hither by curiosity, and\nalso many people from Samaria.\n\n\"'Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saith the Lord, for my people\nhave committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living\nwaters, and hewn them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold\nno water. And yet thou sayest, O Israel, thou hast not sinned. Thine\nown wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliding shall reprove\nthee. Repent and do works meet for repentance, every one of you, for\nye have polluted the land; neither say, Where is the Lord that brought\nus up out of the land of Egypt? Trust not to lying words, saying, The\nTemple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord! Ye\nhave made it a den of robbers. Your sacrifices therein are become an\nabomination.'\n\n\"'This would touch us who are priests, master,' said a priest, with a\ncrimson brow. 'We are not robbers.'\n\n\"'Thus saith the Lord,' answered the youthful prophet, as if it were\nGod himself speaking from Horeb, so that we trembled: 'Woe be unto\nthe pastors that destroy my sheep. How is the gold become dim! how is\nthe most fine gold changed! The precious sons of Zion, comparable to\nfine gold, how are they esteemed? Woe unto you, ye priests, for ye\nhave transgressed. My people have transgressed for lack of knowledge.\nTherefore doth the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein\nlanguisheth. Therefore do swearing and lying, and killing and stealing,\nand committing adultery, break out in the land, because there is no\ntruth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Woe unto you, ye\npriests!'\n\n\"Many of the Levites then turned and left him and went away greatly\nmurmuring; and they would gladly have done the prophet a mischief, but\nthey feared the multitude, who said he had spoken only the truth of\nthem.\n\n\"'But the elders of Israel, who are not priests, who spring from\nAbraham, shall be saved by Abraham, master?' asserted, or rather\ninquired, a rich ruler of our city, after the tumult caused by the\nwithdrawal of the Levites had a little subsided. The youthful prophet\nrested his dark eyes, like two suns, upon the old man's face, and said\nimpressively, 'Begin not to say within yourself, We have Abraham to\nour father; for I say unto you,' he added, pointing to the pebbles at\nhis feet, 'that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto\nAbraham. He is of Abraham who doth righteousness; therefore repent, and\nbring forth fruits meet for repentance.'\n\n\"Here was heard some murmuring among a group of many Pharisees and\nSadducees at these words, when, sending his lightning glance towards\nthem, as if he could read their very hearts, he cried:\n\n\"'O generation of vipers! Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to\ncome? The day cometh when he who is to come shall sit as a purifier by\nhis furnace. Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance. Turn\nthy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. Repent ye, for\nthe kingdom of heaven is at hand.\n\n\"'Hear, O Israel! Am I a God at hand and not a God afar off? saith the\nLord. Hear ye the message of the Most High, for the day hath come when\nJehovah shall once more visit the earth and talk face to face with his\ncreatures. Behold, the day hath come, saith the Lord, that I will raise\nunto David a righteous branch, and a king to reign and prosper, who\nshall execute judgment and justice on the earth.\n\n\"'Behold, the day hath come, saith the Lord, in which Judah shall be\nsaved, and Israel shall dwell safely; when I will set up shepherds over\nthem, which shall feed them, and they shall lack nothing.\n\n\"'Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is\nrisen upon thee! Darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the\npeople, as saith Esaias; but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and his\nglory shall be seen upon thee. The Gentiles shall come to his light,\nand kings to the brightness of his rising. He shall be called the Lord\nof our righteousness, and shall be a crown of glory in the hand of the\nLord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. The Spirit of the Lord\nis upon me to proclaim the acceptable year of his coming. He hath set\nme a watchman upon thy walls, O Israel, and I may neither hold my peace\nday nor night, nor keep silence, nor seek rest, till he come, who hath\nsent me forth his messenger before his face. How can I refrain from my\nmessage of joy? How shall I not speak of his fame? Incline your ear and\ncome unto him. Hear, and your soul shall live.\n\n\"'Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the ends of the\nearth; for thus saith God the Lord, I have put my spirit upon him; a\nbruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not\nquench. I, the Lord, saith Jehovah, addressing the Only Begotten, I\nhave called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand and keep\nthee, and will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of\nthe Gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from\nthe prison. I have made him, my first-born, higher than the kings of\nthe earth. Look unto him, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.\nThe Lord of Hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.'\n\n\"All this was spoken with an enthusiasm and fire that made every pulse\nbound.\n\n\"Such,\" said John, \"was the extraordinary style of this mighty\nprophet's preaching. I fancied I had only to look around to behold\nthe Messiah. The immense multitude stood awed and silent when he had\nceased. Leaving the eminence, he said, and I thought he fixed his eyes\nupon me, 'Ye who desire to be baptized for the remission of sins, that\nyour hearts may be cleansed for the visitation of this Holy One of\nGod, follow me to the river side.' Thousands obeyed, and I one of the\nfirst. I trembled all over with a sweet pleasure, when he took me by\nthe hand, and asked me if I believed in him who was to come, and would\nprepare the way for his abode in my heart by being baptized, which rite\nalso was to be a sign and pledge that when I should behold the Shiloh\nrising, I should acknowledge him. Not less than one thousand were\nbaptized by him that day in Jordan, confessing their sins, and hopes of\npardon through the name of the Unknown One, who was soon to come.\n\n\"After the baptism, the whole company dispersed in groups, and the\nprophet returned into the wilderness till the cool of the evening,\nwhere his repast was locusts and the wild honey of the desert.\"\n\nWith this, dear father, I close my long letter. I make no comments. I\nwill only say that my expectations are actively awake, and that I am\nlooking, with thousands of others, for the near advent of the Messiah.\n\n                                                    Your daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER V.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\n\"After the prophet had ended his second discourse, and baptized full\ntwo hundred more in the sparkling waters of Jordan,\" resumed the\neloquent cousin of Mary, \"he sent them away to the city to lodge\nand buy meat; for few, in their eagerness to hear him, had brought\nprovisions with them. Many, before leaving him, drew near to receive\nhis blessing of love, and it was touching to see venerable men, with\nlocks shining like silver, and leaning upon the staff, bend their aged\nheads before the youthful Elias, as if in acknowledgment of his divine\ncommission. Mothers also brought their infants, that he might bless\nthem; and youths and maidens knelt reverently at his feet in tears of\nlove and penitence. Calmly he stood upon the green shores, like an\nangel alighted upon earth, and blessed them in words all new to our\nears, but which thrilled to our hearts with some secret power that\nagitated us with trembling joy.\n\n\"'In the name of the Lamb of God I bless thee!'\n\n\"'What can be the meaning of these words?' asked Mary, with her gentle\nearnestness. Her betrothed could only reply that he knew not.\n\n\"At length, one after another, the multitude departed, save a few who\nencamped beneath trees on the banks of the river. Joseph of Arimathea\nand I were left almost alone standing near the prophet, and regarding\nhim with reverential curiosity. The sun was just disappearing over the\ndistant towers of Jericho, and painting with the richest purple the\nhills between the river and Jerusalem. Jordan, catching its reddening\nradiance, rolled past like a river of liquid gold embanked in emerald.\nThe brow of the prophet, lighted up by a sun-ray that shone between\nthe branches of a pomegranate tree, seemed like the face of Moses\nwhen he came down from Sinai, a glory of light. He appeared rapt in\nheavenly meditation, and we stood silent and gazed upon him, not daring\nto speak. At length he turned towards us, smiled, and, saluting us,\ngrasped the crook or staff on which he had been leaning--for he was\nweary and pale with his labors of the day--and slowly walked down the\nshore in the direction of the wilderness. He had not advanced many\nsteps when I felt an irresistible impulse to follow him. I therefore\nsaid to my companion:\n\n\"'Let us follow him, and learn more of these great things which we have\nthis day heard.'\n\n\"We proceeded slowly after him, as he moved in a contemplative mood\nalong the desert path. The sun had already gone down, and the full moon\nrose on the opposite shore, and the prophet stopped as if to gaze upon\nits autumnal beauty. We drew near to him. He beheld us, but did not\navoid us; seeing which, I advanced with timid confidence, and said:\n\n\"'Holy prophet of the Most High God, wilt thou permit two young men of\nIsrael to speak to thee? for our hearts yearn towards thee with love.\nAnd chiefly would we inquire of thee touching the advent of the mighty\nPersonage whose near coming thou dost foretell?'\n\n\"'Friends,' said the prophet, in a calm and serene manner, 'I am a\ndweller in the desert, and alone, from choice. I approach men only to\nproclaim my message. The delights of earth are not for me. My mission\nis one. Its duration is short. Its aim worthy the greatest prophet of\nGod, yet am I, the least of them, not worthy to be called a prophet;\nand before the splendor of him whom I announce to the world, I am the\ndust of the balance. If thou hast sought me to search after knowledge,\ncome and sit down with me upon this rock, and let me hear what thou\nhast to ask of me, that I may answer thee and go my way.'\n\n\"This was said softly, gently, almost sadly, and in a tone that made\nme love him more and more. I could have cast myself upon his bosom and\nwept there. We seated ourselves, one on either side of him. The scene\nand the hour were well fitted for such a converse as we were about\nto hold. The broad disc of the moon poured a flood of orange-tinted\nradiance full upon us, and lent a hallowed softness to the divine\ncountenance of the youthful prophet. The Jordan, dark as India's dye,\ndarted swiftly past at our feet, between its deeply-shaded banks,\nsending up to our ears the faintest murmur of its pebbly passage. Above\nour heads swelled the vaulted arch of the Temple of Jehovah, with its\nmyriad of altar fires. Behind us stretched the desert waste, cheerless\nand yet grand in its desolate distances.\n\n\"Afar off rose upon the air, and was borne to us at intervals, the\nvoice of a singer in one of the camps; and near us, upon an acacia\ntree, sat a solitary bulbul, which ceaselessly sang its sweet and\nvaried hymn to the listening moon.\n\n\"'All things praise God; shall we be silent?' said the prophet. 'Let\nus sing the evening hymn of the Temple.' He then commenced, in a rich,\nmelodious chant, such as I have never heard from the priests, our\nsacred psalm to the whole creation of God. We joined our voices with\nhis, and the tide of praise floated over the waters, and echoed and\nre-echoed from the opposing shores, as if the banks and stream, trees,\nhills and sky had found voice as well as we:\n\n    \"'Praise! praise! praise ye the Lord!\n    Praise him in the heights! Praise him in the seas!\n    Praise him, men of Israel! Praise ye the Lord!\n      For he exalteth high his people,\n        And reigneth evermore!\n\n    \"'Praise him, all ye angels! Praise him, all ye hosts!\n    Praise him, sun and moon, and all ye stars of light!\n    Praise him, fire and hail! Praise him, storm and snows!\n      For he judgeth the earth in righteousness,\n        And reigneth evermore!\n\n    \"'Praise! praise! praise ye the Lord!\n    Praise him, winged fowl, and herds, cattle, and all beasts!\n    Praise him, kings and people, princes, priests and judges!\n    Praise him, youths and maidens, old men and children!\n\n    \"'Praise the name, let them praise the name,\n    Praise the name of the Lord God of Hosts!\n    For his name alone is excellent,\n    His glory above the heavens;\n    Israel is his first-born--a people well-beloved!\n    Praise! let Israel, therefore, praise him!\n      Praise him evermore,\n        Evermore,\n            Ever, evermore!'\n\n\"Never shall I forget the effect produced upon my inmost being by this\nhymn. The prophet sang as if he were leading a choir of angels. My\nheart leaped at the chorus, as if it would break out, take wing and\nleave the earth. When we called on the winds and the fowls of the air\nto praise Jehovah with us, the thrilling voice of the bulbul seemed\nto pour from its throat a wilder, richer, more joyous tide of song,\nand the audible wind bent the adoring trees, and mingled its mystic\nwhispers with the psalm of men. Surely, thought I, it is good for me to\nbe here, for this is none other than the gate of Paradise!\n\n\"After a few moments' silence, the prophet spoke and said:\n\n\"'You sought me, brethren of Israel; can I do aught for you?'\n\n\"'We would hear more, great prophet, touching this mighty One who is\nto come after thee,' said Joseph.\n\n\"'I can tell thee but little, my brethren, save what thou hast heard\nfrom me this day. The future is veiled. I bear a message, indeed, but\nI may not break the seal and read. To you it will be given to know\nwhat is now unknown to me. If it be permitted me to see him, it will\nbe but for a brief space, for when he cometh I depart--my errand is\ndone. Blessed are those who live to witness his glory, and to hear the\ngracious voice of God that proceeds from his anointed lips.'\n\n\"'And when will be his advent, and with what form and power cometh this\ndivine Being?' I asked.\n\n\"'As a man, but not with comeliness of form that men should desire him.\nHis appearance will be humble, lowly and meek.'\n\n\"'Yet you said to-day, Rabbi,' I continued, 'that his power should be\ninfinite, and that of his kingdom there should be no end. You spoke\nof the glory of his dominions, and the humiliation of Gentile kings\nbeneath his sceptre.'\n\n\"'This I cannot explain--it is a mystery to me. I speak as God, by whom\nI am sent, gives me utterance. I know that he who cometh after me is\ngreater than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose.'\n\n\"'You taught us this evening, holy prophet, that he would be the Lord\nfrom heaven; and yet that Esaias saith he will be despised and rejected\nof men, wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities.'\n\n\"'The spirit of God teaches me that these words apply to Shiloh; but\nI cannot comprehend how these things can be,' he answered, with deep\nsadness.\n\n\"'May I remind you, good Rabbi,' said Joseph, 'that you taught us how\nthis Divine Personage should die, though Lord of life, and be numbered\nin his death with transgressors, though the Holy One of God?'\n\n\"'And such will be the events that are to happen; but seek not to know\nwhat no man hath had revealed to him. The divine Messiah himself must\nbe his own interpreter. Blessed will be the eyes that behold him, and\nlisten to the wisdom of his mouth, and keep the law of his lips.'\n\n\"'May I ask you, holy prophet of the Lord,' said Joseph, 'how is\nit that he whom you are sent by God to bear witness to can be the\nDeliverer of Israel, when you predict for him so sad a fate? Messiah is\nto restore Jerusalem and the glory of the Temple, so saith Esaias, so\nsay Ezra and Jeremiah. We therefore, in the Messiahs of the prophets,\nhave looked for a powerful potentate, who shall reign in Jerusalem over\nthe whole earth and subdue all nations.'\n\n\"'His kingdom is not of this earth,' answered the prophet, impressively.\n\n\"'How then can we interpret the prophet David, who maketh the Lord to\nsay: \"I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion\"? Also, how shall\nwe interpret those sayings of Esaias who, prophesying of the blessed\nChrist of God, hath these words: \"Of the increase of his government\nand peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon\nhis kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with\njustice, from henceforth, even forever\"?'\n\n\"'I know not. These secrets are with God. This I know, that the least\nchild and the lowliest hireling that liveth in the day of Messias is\ngreater than I. I am the last of the prophets. It is for me to open the\nlast door that leads out from the night of prophecy into the glorious\ndawn of the day of fulfillment; but I am not permitted to enter beyond\nthe threshold, or share in its blessings. All who come after me will be\npreferred before me. But let me rejoice that the day-star is about to\nrise, though his beams shine on all the earth but me!' This was said\nwith the most touching pathos.\n\n\"We were both deeply moved, I myself even to tears. I sank on my knees,\nand kissing his hand, bathed it with my tears.\n\n\"He gently raised me, and said in a sweet voice:\n\n\"'Brother beloved, thou shalt see him to whom I bear witness, and he\nwill love thee, and thou shalt repose in his bosom!' I burst into\ntears, and, rising, I walked a little ways apart, and lifting up my\neyes toward heaven, I prayed the God of our fathers that I might be\nfound worthy of this blessed honor.\n\n\"'And shall I also behold this mighty Son of God?' asked Joseph, with\nsolicitude.\n\n\"The prophet took his hand in his, and fixing upon him his eyes of\nprophetic brightness, said slowly, and in tones awe-inspiring and\npainfully sorrowful:\n\n\"'Thou shalt one day bear him in thine arms, and lay him upon a couch\nwhich thou hast prepared for thine own repose. Thou knowest not now\nwhat I say, but thou shalt remember it when it cometh to pass!'\n\n\"When he had thus spoken, he arose, and waving his hand to us both, he\nwalked rapidly away towards the darkening desert.\n\n\"'Didst thou hear him?' at length, after some minutes' pause, asked\nJoseph of me. 'What can his words mean? They are prophetic of some\nfearful event. His eyes betrayed some terrible meaning. My heart is\ntroubled.'\n\n\"'And mine rejoiceth.' I answered. 'We shall see him! I shall be near\nhim! Oh, if he be like this sweet prophet of God, I shall love him with\nall my soul's being! How wonderful that we are to be thus associated\nwith this Divine Person! Welcome the hour of his blessed advent!'\n\n\"'Wilt thou welcome the advent of a sufferer?' said a voice so near\nthat it startled us by its abruptness, and, looking round, we saw,\nstanding within the shadow of a wild olive tree, a young man who was a\nstranger, but to whom I afterwards became deeply attached. His face was\npale and intellectual, and his form slight but of the most symmetrical\nelegance. His question at once made me sorrowful, for it recalled the\nsad prophecy of Esaias.\n\n\"'He is also to be king and monarch of the world, and infinitely\nholy and good,' I said. 'If thou hast been near, thou hast heard the\nglorious things the prophet has spoken of him.'\n\n\"'I have been near--I was reclining beneath this tree when you seated\nyourselves there. Be not deceived; the divine Man who is to come is to\nbe a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He is to be rejected by\nIsrael and despised by Judah. Those whom he comes to bless will despise\nhim for his lowliness and obscurity. His life will be a life of tears,\nand toil, and heaviness of heart, and he will at last be cut off from\namong the living, with the ignominy due only to a transgressor. Dost\nthou welcome the advent of a sufferer?'\n\n\"'But how knowest thou this? Art thou a prophet?' I asked with surprise\nand admiration.\n\n\"'No, brother, but I have read the prophets. I heard, moreover, the\nwords of this holy man sent from God, and he dwells more on the\nhumility of the Christ than on his kingly grandeur. Believe me, the\nkingdom of Shiloh is not of this world. It cannot be of this world, if\nsuch is to be his life and death; and that it is to be his life, Esaias\nclearly states. Let me read to you his words.' He then took a roll of\nparchment from his bosom, and read by the clear tropical moonlight,\nthat mysterious and inexplicable passage which beginneth with the\nwords: 'Who hath believed our report?' When he had ended, he resumed:\n'This is not the history of a prosperous earthly monarch, but rather\nthe painful record of a life of humiliation, of shame, and of contempt.'\n\n\"'But thou dost not say, brother,' said Joseph, with some warmth, 'that\nthe sacred Person borne witness to by this prophet is to be an object\nof contempt?'\n\n\"'Does not Esaias say that he will be despised, beaten with stripes,\nrejected of men, imprisoned, and put to death like a transgressor of\nthe law?'\n\n\"'There can be no question but that Esaias speaks of the Messiah,' I\nremarked.\n\n\"'This prophet of Jordan now bears full testimony to Esaias, and\nplainly maketh application of his words to him whom he has come\nbeforehand to proclaim,' answered the young man, with singularly\ngraceful eloquence in all he said. 'Let us who have been baptized this\nday for the remission of our sins, expect a Messiah of sorrows, not a\nconquering prince. Let us behold one who is to humble himself beneath\nthe yoke of human infirmities, that he may be exalted, and draw all men\nafter him to a kingdom in the heavens.'\n\n\"'But the throne of David--' objected Joseph.\n\n\"'Is at the right hand of God.'\n\n\"'But Jerusalem, and its rule over the nations--'\n\n\"'Jerusalem that is above, will be over all.'\n\n\"'But his kingdom that is to be everlasting--'\n\n\"'Is where life is everlasting. How can he rule an everlasting realm\nhere on earth without living forever, and his subjects also? Read not\nthe prophets so? As Adam fell and lost paradise, so Messias, like\na second Adam, must, as man, humble himself, in human nature, to\nrepurchase the kingdom of paradise for the race of man. It is this\nkingdom which this prophet proclaims as being at hand. He being the\nbearer of our iniquities, we shall thereby escape their chastisement.\nHealed by his stripes, we shall be free from our sins. Laid upon him\nwill be the transgressions of the world; and by one mighty sacrifice\nof himself, thus laden, as a sin-offering, he shall offer an atonement\nto make one with Jehovah the great family of Adam. Such is to be our\nlooked-for Messiah. Alas, while we look for him, let us mingle tears\nwith our gladness, that one so holy and excellent should be destined to\nendure these things for our sakes; and when we behold him, let us sink\nat his feet in grateful adoration of his love.'\n\n\"When the young man had spoken, he walked away. Impelled by an\nunconquerable impulse, I followed, and took him in my arms, and\nembracing him, said: 'Of a truth thou art a prophet! Thy words come\nhome to my heart like the echo of ancient prophecy.'\n\n\"'Nay. I have learned these things from the study of the Scripture,'\nhe said, with angelic candor and modesty. 'But I have been aided, how\nmuch I have no words to tell thee, by one who hath wisdom and truth\nabiding in him above all men, and whom it is my happiness to have my\nbosom friend, as he is near my own age. If I am wise, or virtuous, or\ngood, or know the Scriptures, it is that he hath been my counselor and\nteacher.'\n\n\"'What is his name?' I asked, 'for I also would go and learn of him.'\n\n\"'He withdraws from the public eye, and hath little converse but with\nfew, and shuns all notice. Without his permission I could not take thee\nto him.'\n\n\"'What is his appearance, and where doth he dwell?' I inquired, more\ndeeply interested.\n\n\"'He abides at present at Bethany, my own city. He is so beloved by\nus, that we detain him as our guest. But he dwelleth at other times\nwith his mother, a holy widow of great sanctity and matronly dignity,\nliving at Nazareth in humble condition, and he contributes by labor\nto her support, with the most exemplary filial piety. No person ever\napproaches and speaks with him without leaving a wiser and better man.'\n\n\"'Verily,' said Joseph and I together, 'you have only increased our\ndesire to behold him. His appearance must be noble.'\n\n\"'There sits upon his brow a serene dignity, tempered with mildness,\nthat commands the respect of age, and wins the confiding love of\nchildhood. His eyes beam with a light, calm and pure, as if shining\nfrom interior holy thoughts, and they rest upon you, when he speaks,\nwith a tenderness that is like the dewy light of the young mother's\ngaze, when she bends in silent happiness and tears over the face of her\nfirst-born. His face is one soft sunshine of smiling rays, tempered\nin an indescribable manner with a settled look of sadness, an almost\nimperceptible shade of permanent sorrow, that seems to foreshadow a\nlife of trial and suffering.'\n\n\"'He must be another prophet,' said Joseph, with deep earnestness.\n\n\"'He does not prophesy, nor preach,' answered the young man.\n\n\"'What is his name?' I asked.\n\n\"'Jesus, the Nazarene.'\n\n\"As the young man was then about to move away, I asked him his name,\nas he had greatly drawn out my heart towards him, and I felt that if I\ncould be his friend, and the friend of the wise young man of Nazareth,\nI should be perfectly happy and have no other desire--save, indeed, to\nlive till the Messiah came, that I might behold him, and lay my head\nupon his sacred bosom.\n\n\"'My name is Lazarus, the Scribe,' he answered.\"\n\n\"What?\" interrupted Mary. \"Then I know him well. He is the brother of\nMary and Martha, my friends at Bethany, where I passed a week last\nyear, just before the Passover.\"\n\n\"The next day,\" continued John, \"we renewed our acquaintance, and\nafter three days departed together homeward. Upon arriving at Bethany,\nLazarus learned that his friend had gone to Cana, in Galilee, on a\nvisit with his mother, to the house of one of her kinfolk, whose\ndaughter is soon to be married.\"\n\nHaving now, my dear father, communicated to you all that John related\nto us, you will see what grounds there are to look upon the prophet of\nJordan as a man sent from God, or to believe that he is the true Elias,\nwhom Malachi hath foretold, and who, as the most learned of the Scribes\nsay, must first come to proclaim the approach of the Prince of Peace,\nthe Shiloh of Israel's hopes.\n\nThe account brought by John has set Rabbi Amos to studying the\nProphets, and indeed all men are looking into them with interest\nunknown before. May God be indeed about to bless his people, and\nremember his inheritance!\n\n                                       Your affectionate daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER VI.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nYour letter, dear father, commands me to banish this \"novelty\" from\nmy mind, and continue humbly to worship Jehovah after the manner of\nour fathers. I trust this I shall ever do, my dear father; and did\nI discover in this prophet any disposition to bring in a new faith,\nopposed to the ancient faith of Abraham, I should tremble to entertain\nit for a moment. You say that this man must be \"a false and base\nprophet,\" or he would not herald a master so low and despised as he\nprofesses will be the Christ he bears witness to. \"The kingdom of\nMessias is not a kingdom of repentance and humiliation,\" you add, \"but\none of victory, of glory and dominion.\"\n\n[Illustration: The TEMPLE of HEROD in the Time of CHRIST. This cut is\ndesigned after the model prepared by the student and traveler, Sir\nJames Ferguson.]\n\nHow can I write to you, my dear father, that which is now rushing to\nmy pen, after such an expression of your sentiments as you have made\nin this extract from your letter? But I know you are wise, and will\nnot evade truth, in whatever form it may offer itself to you, and I,\ntherefore, with confidence in your justice and wisdom, will faithfully\nmake known to you the events relating to the prophet which have\ntranspired.\n\nYou will remember how that John, Mary's cousin, stated that many\npriests and others were offended at the plain preaching of the prophet\nwhom they went out into the wilderness to see. When they returned to\nJerusalem, and made known to the other members of the House of the\nPriests what had been spoken against them, by the application to them\nof the words of Esaias and Jeremias, and other prophets, there arose at\nonce a great outcry against him. At length Annas, who is High Priest\nwith Caiaphas, sent two of the most learned men of the Temple, Levites\nof weight of character, to invite the prophet to Jerusalem; for Annas\nis a wise man, and not easily carried away by popular feeling; and, as\nRabbi Amos hath told me, he is disposed to look upon the preaching of\nthis John with a serious and reverential eye. The messengers returned\nafter the fifth day, and made their report openly in the Court of the\nTemple, where the High Priests sat to receive them. At length, the\nassembly being convened, the two learned and venerable Levites both\nrose up, and declared that they had delivered the message to John, the\nson of Zacharias, the prophet of Jordan, and that his answer was given\nwith the reverence due to the station of the High Priest who had sent\nto him.\n\n\"'Go and say to the noble High Priest,' said he, 'that I am the voice\nof one crying in the wilderness, as it is written in the book of the\nwords of Esaias the prophet, who, foreseeing my day, saith, \"The voice\nof one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make\nhis paths straight.\" He who would hear my testimony to him who is to\ncome after me, let him seek me in the wilderness, whence only I am\ncommanded to lift up my voice till Shiloh come.'\"\n\nWhen the priests heard this answer they were greatly enraged, and many\nfiercely cried one thing and many another; some that he should be\nsought out and stoned to death for defying the High Priest; others,\nthat he should be accused to the Procurator, Pontius Pilate, Governor\nof Judea, as a seditious and dangerous person, and fermenter of\ninsurrections. Caiaphas was of the latter opinion. But the milder Annas\nviewed the whole matter in a different light, and said:\n\n\"Men and brethren, let nothing be done hastily. If this man be a false\nprophet, he will soon perish, and we shall hear no more of him. If,\nperadventure, as it would appear, he is sent from God, let us not\nmake haste to do him a mischief, lest, haply, we be found contending\nagainst the Lord of Hosts.\"\n\nThis moderation found favor with but few, and of these few, Rabbi Amos\nwas one. But if the priests who thronged the outer court, in presence\nof the High Priest, were deeply moved at the report of the prophet's\nanswer, their excitement became well-nigh uncontrollable when both\nMelchi and Heli, their messengers, rose up, waving their hands for\nsilence, and declared that, after having listened to the prophet to\nwhom they had been sent, they were convinced of the truth of his words,\nand of his divine commission, and had been baptized of him in Jordan,\nconfessing their sins!\n\nOnly the sanctity of the Temple prevented the five hundred priests\nrushing upon them and smiting them when they heard this. They were at\nonce placed under arrest by order of the High Priest, Caiaphas, for\nacting in a manner unbecoming a priest of the Most High God. The people\nwho had heard John preach, however, were only prevented from rescuing\nthe two priests by the presence of a guard of Roman soldiers, for which\nCaiaphas promptly sent.\n\nFrom this account, my dear father, you can form some idea of the\nexcitement which the preaching of this new prophet is producing among\nall classes.\n\nIf the Prince of Glory should, indeed, suddenly appear, there could be\nscarcely more excitement, though it would be of a different nature.\n\nAs next week Rabbi Amos does not serve in his course in the Temple, and\nas he will have some affairs that take him to Gilgal, he has yielded\nto the desire of his daughter Mary and myself to accompany him; for\nhe does not conceal from us that he shall make it a point to visit\nand hear the prophet, as it will be but two hours' travel from Gilgal\nto the place where he preaches. You will, I fear me, object to this\njourney. But if the worship of our fathers has nothing to fear from\nfalsehood, it surely has naught to fear from truth; and in either case\nI, as a true daughter of Israel, have nothing to fear. If the prophet\nteach what is false, I shall remain true; and if he teach that which is\ntrue, shall I not be the gainer?\n\nOne thing is clear--if the Christ that John prophesies be the true Son\nof the Highest, and is in reality to make his appearance ere long, in\nhumiliation and poverty, his rejection by the High Priests, and by\nthe rich and powerful of Judah, is certain. May God, then, remove\nblindness from our eyes, that, if this be the very Messias indeed,\nIsrael may recognize their king when he cometh, and not do so fearful a\nthing in their pride as to reject him openly.\n\nYou will remember the young Roman centurion, to whose courtesy I was\nindebted for rescuing me from the rudeness of the two Gentile soldiers.\nHe has preserved, since then, acquaintance with Rabbi Amos, who speaks\nof him with respect; and as he has of late expressed some interest in\nknowing what the studies are which occupy the Rabbi so constantly when\nhe calls to see him, the Rabbi sent for me to come into the marble hall\nof the corridor, where they sat by the fountain under the shade of the\nacacia, which Amos says you took with your own hands from Isaiah's\ngrave and planted here, many years ago, and which I, therefore, call\n\"my father's tree.\"\n\n\"Come hither, Adina,\" said my uncle, in his benevolent tones; \"here\nyou behold a noble Roman youth whom you must be too generous to have\nforgotten.\" I bowed and scarcely lifted my eyelids from the tesselated\nfloor, for there was a fire in the glance of the handsome youth that\nthey could not encounter. He said some words of salutation; but I only\nheard the voice, which fell upon my heart with a strange vibration,\nlike the effects of music. \"The Roman centurion,\" continued Amos, \"hath\ndesired to know something of the sacred books of our nation, of which\nhe saith he hath heard much; and of the prophecies, from which he\nbelieves the famed Sibylline books were composed.\"\n\nThen, turning to the centurion, \"Here is an Egyptian maiden, who can\ninterpret for thee in the idiom of Grecia, or of Italia, and I will\nplace the sacred roll in her hands while I listen. Come Adina, open and\nread the beginning of the Book of Moses.\"\n\nTo this narrative the youthful warrior listened with the profoundest\nrespect and attention. He asked if the Messias had yet come who was\nto restore all things; and, if not, when he was to be looked for.\nThis inquiry led to a conversation upon the preaching of John in the\nwilderness and his predictions of the near advent of Shiloh. Rabbi\nAmos, seeing that he was becoming deeply interested in the subject,\nmade me turn to the particular prophecies of Daniel, Esaias, David\nand others, and read them to him; both those which described, in\ngolden words, the glory and dominion of his power, and those which\nrepresented him as despised and rejected. The young man remained some\ntime very thoughtful. At length he said, with animation: \"I can now\ncomprehend why men run into the wilderness. I should like to hear this\nprophet.\"\n\nWhen Amos told him that he contemplated journeying to Gilgal the next\nweek, and intended to visit the desert to hear him, he at once asked\npermission to be of his company, saying:\n\n\"I will accompany you with a squadron of horse, as the roads are not\nsafe; for no longer ago than yesterday we received a rumor that the\ncelebrated robber chief, Barabbas, at the head of a large band, has\nmade his appearance again on the hills between Ephraim and Jericho.\"\n\nIt is therefore decided, dear father, that we leave early next week for\nJericho and Gilgal. On my return I shall not fail to write you without\ndelay. Till then withhold your judgment, and have confidence in mine.\nWith holy aspirations for the coming of the kingdom of David and the\nrestoration of his throne in Zion, I remain, with filial love, your\ndaughter,\n\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER VII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nYou will recollect that in my last epistle I made mention of our\nintention to go to Gilgal, where John, the betrothed of Mary, was to\nmeet us and accompany us to Jordan.\n\nIt was faint dawn when we rose from our couches to prepare for the\njourney. The mules upon which we were to ride were brought into the\ncourt by the two swarthy Gibeonite serfs whom Rabbi Amos holds in\nhis service, and caparisoned with rich saddles covered with Persian\nsaddle-cloths, embroidered with gold. The two pack mules were also made\nready, on one of which was the traveling equipage of my cousin Mary and\nmyself, which Rabbi Amos smilingly said took up more space than the\ngoods and traveling wares of a Damascus merchant. At sunrise, after\nwe had kneeled upon the housetop, in view of the Temple, and sent up\nour prayers with its sacrifices and clouds of ascending incense, we\ndescended to the court-yard to mount for the road.\n\nThe morning was bright and cheerful, with the golden sun pouring its\nlight over temple and tower, castle and roof, wall and rampart, hill\nand grove, valley and brook. As we turned the street leading to the\nSheep Gate, we passed the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, whom I\nsaw standing upon the marble porch of his superb palace. He was not\narrayed in his sumptuous robes, with the breast-plate of dazzling\nstones, and kingly cap, as I had seen him in the Temple, but was\ndressed in a flowing black robe, over which was thrown a scarf of white\nlinen; and upon his snow-white locks he wore a scarlet hood, a dress\ncommon to all the priests, so that if I had not recognized him by his\ntall and commanding form and flowing white hair and piercing eye, as he\nsurveyed us, I should have known that it was the High Priest.\n\nA little further on we met a party coming from the country beyond\nKedron, with large cages upon their mules, laden with turtle doves\nand young pigeons, which they were carrying to the Temple, to be sold\nthere for sacrifices. My heart pitied the innocent things, whose blue,\npretty heads were thrust by the dozen through the rough bars of their\nprison-houses, as they cast their soft eyes up at me, as if asking me\nto deliver them from their bondage. As Mary was riding behind me, in\norder to let the laden mules pass with their immense cages, one of the\nturtle doves, affrighted by the noise of the streets, extricated itself\nfrom between the bars, and spreading its wings, flew into the air, and\nthen taking its flight for the country, soared far above the city walls\nand disappeared in the distance. I felt rejoiced at the innocent bird's\nescape, and sent my good wishes for its safe return to its lodge in the\nwilderness. Just before we reached the Sheep Gate, by which we were\nto gain the Jericho road, we met a poor blind man leading a lamb, or\nrather being led by a tame lamb. He also had two pigeons in his bosom.\nHe was asked by Rabbi Amos, who knew him, whither he was going. He\nanswered that he was going to the Temple to sacrifice them. \"Nay,\" said\nAmos, with surprise, \"thou wilt not sacrifice thy lamb, Bartimeus?\"\n\n\"It is an offering to God, Rabbi Amos.\"\n\n\"But thy lamb leadeth thee everywhere. It is eyes to thee. Thou canst\nnot do without it. And thy doves? Thou earnest by them many a mite in a\nday, they are so well taught in cunning and pleasant tricks to please\nchildren. If thou wilt sacrifice, spare these so needful to thee, and\nhere is money to buy doves and another lamb,\" answered my benevolent\nuncle.\n\n\"Hear what I have to say,\" answered Bartimeus. \"My father became sick\nand was likely to die. The next day my mother, who has nourished my\nchildhood and loved me, though I was born blind, with all her heart,\nwas also taken sick. The same night my little daughter, my little blind\ndaughter, whose face I never saw, and who never saw her father's face,\nwas sick nigh unto death. My father, my mother, my child, are now\nrestored, and in my joy I am on my way to the Temple, to offer these\ngifts of God to him. It will not be hard to part with them, since, in\ngiving all that I have, I but show my love to God.\"\n\nWith these words he went on, the lamb, obeying the string which he\nheld, softly moving on before; while I could see the sightless eyes\nof the righteous son and pious father trickle tears, as he kissed and\nkissed again the precious doves that lay in his bosom. This little\noccurrence made me sad; yet I honored the resolute piety of this poor\nman, whose eyes, though they saw not men, seemed to see God and feel\nhis presence. There is still humble piety in the land, my dear father,\nand finding it not among the proud and splendid priests, we must look\nfor it in the hearts of the poor and humble, like Bartimeus.\n\nOnce outside the gates, the air blew fresh from the hills of olives.\nAfter being so long confined within the walls and narrow streets, it\nseemed to me that I had just broken out of my cage, like the pretty,\nblue-headed turtle dove, and I felt like winging my way, too, to the\nfree deserts.\n\nWe had hardly reached the place where the two roads meet, when we heard\nto the west the sound of the galloping of a large body of horse, and\nthe next moment the young Roman centurion came in sight, riding at the\nhead of a troop of horse, whose martial appearance, with the ringing of\ntheir armor and the melody of their bugles, made my blood leap. \u00c6milius\nlooked like a prince, and his burnished armor shone in the sun like\narmor of fire. At his side rode a youth who bore the eagle of his band,\nbut the centurion himself carried in his hand only the badge of his\nrank, which was a vine-rod bound with rings of gold. He saluted us with\nthat courtesy which distinguishes his every motion, and then dividing\nhis troop into two bodies, half of whom, trotting on ahead, led the\nvan, and the other half, falling behind, served as a rear-guard. He\nthen gave the word to move forward.\n\nFarewell, dear father, till my next, when I will resume my narrative of\nthe events which have taken place since I left Jerusalem. The God of\nour father Abraham be your defence and shield.\n\n                                       Your affectionate daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER VIII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nMy last letter ended with an account of the Roman escort, under\nthe authority of the young Roman centurion who, as I have before\nwritten to you, with so much courtesy proffered its protection to our\nlittle party. The day was yet early, and the air was of that buoyant\nelasticity so agreeable to breathe, and which strikes me as one of\nthe peculiar blessings of this holy land of our fathers. As I rode\nalong, I felt as if I would gladly mount the Arabian of the desert and\nfly across the sandy seas of Edom, with the fleetness which amazes me\nwhenever I see the children of the desert ride; for a band of thirty\ncame boldly near us from a gorge as we approached Bethany, and after\nwatching us a few moments, scoured away into the recesses of the hills\nlike the wind, as a detachment of our Roman escort was ordered to\ngallop towards them. We were fortunate in having such strong protection.\n\nWe soon afterwards reached the summit of the ridge above Bethany, from\nwhich eminence we had a gorgeous view of the Holy City of God, with its\nlofty Temple glittering in the sunbeams. The Tower of Antonia darkly\ncontrasted with its splendor, and the citadel of David frowned over the\nwalls with a warlike majesty that deeply impressed me. I drew rein, and\nentreated Rabbi Amos to delay a few moments while I surveyed Jerusalem,\nbut he was too far ahead to hear me, and the centurion, riding up to\nmy side, stopped respectfully with a portion of his command, and said\nhe would await my leisure. I could not but thank him for his civility,\nand then turning towards the city, I was soon lost to all else but the\nawful contemplation of it.\n\n\"You should see Rome,\" said the centurion, who had watched my emotion\nevidently with surprise. \"It is a city of grandeur unequalled. It\ncovers six times more space than this city, and it contains three\nhundred and sixty-five temples, while Jerusalem contains but one!\"\n\n\"There is no God but one,\" I answered, impressively.\n\n\"We believe there is one God, who is the author of a great multitude\nof lesser gods, and to each we erect a temple,\" he said firmly, yet\nrespectfully.\n\n[Illustration: Rome]\n\nUpon this, touched with pity that one so noble in mind and person\nshould be so ignorant of the truth, I began to show him from the\nProphets that God was one, and that all things were made by him. But\nhe, plucking a blossom from a tree within reach, said:\n\n\"It is beneath the dignity of the Father of the gods, the great Jove,\nto descend to make a flower like this, or shape a crystal, or color\nthe ruby, or create that golden-eyed humming-bird which flutters among\nthose fragrant blossoms. He made the sun, and moon, and stars, and\nearth, but left the lesser works to inferior deities. Talk to me of thy\none God, and prove to me, maiden, that he made all things, and is one,\nand thy God shall be my God.\"\n\nWe now rode forward through the street of Bethany, and soon came to\nthe house of our former friend, Rabbi Abel, who died many years ago at\nAlexandria, when he went there with merchandise, and after the welfare\nof whose children you desired me to make inquiries. It was a plain and\nhumble dwelling before which Rabbi Amos assisted me to alight; but\nthere was an air of neatness and sweet domestic repose about it that\nat once came home to my heart, and made me love the place even before\nI had seen the inmates. On hearing of my arrival, there came out a\nfair young girl of twenty-two, with the most amiable expression of\naffectionate welcome, and approaching me with mingled respect and love,\nshe embraced me, while Rabbi Amos pronounced our names to each other.\nI felt immediately as if I were in a sister's arms, and that I should\nlove her always. Next came forth a young man of about thirty years of\nage, with a countenance of an exceedingly interesting expression, full\nof intellect and good will. He was pale and habitually thoughtful, but\na fine friendly light beamed in his dark, handsome eyes, as he extended\nhis hand to welcome me. You have already had a full description of\nhim, and of his character, in one of my former letters, and need not\nbe told that it was Lazarus, the son of your friend. At the threshold\nMartha, the eldest sister, met me, but with more ceremony, and made an\napology for receiving me, the rich heiress of Alexandria, as she termed\nme, into so lowly a dwelling; but I embraced her so affectionately\nthat this feeling passed away instantly. Martha busied herself at once\nto prepare refreshments for us, and soon set before us a frugal but\nagreeable repast. Mary, in the meanwhile, and Lazarus, sat on either\nside of me, and asked me many questions about Alexandria.\n\nI cannot describe to you the loveliness of the person of Mary, and yet\nnot so much the perfection of features as the soul which animates them,\nand lends them a charm that I cannot adequately convey to you.\n\nMartha, the oldest, is of a more lively disposition, yet more\ncommanding in her aspect, being taller and almost queenly in her mien.\nHer eyes and her hair are jet black; the former mild and beaming with\nintelligence, like those of her brother Lazarus, whom she resembles.\nShe has a winning voice, and a manner that leads you to feel strong\nconfidence in her friendship. She seemed to take the whole management\nof our entertainment upon herself. Lazarus conversed chiefly with\nRabbi Amos, who questioned him with much interest about the prophet\nJohn of the wilderness. After our repast, Martha showed me three\nbeautiful bands of embroidery, which she was working for the new vail\nof the Temple to be put on next year; for the sisters live by working\nneedle-work for the Temple, and Lazarus makes copies of the Laws and\nPsalms for the priests. He showed me his copying-table, and the rolls\nof parchment upon it, some partly inscribed in beautiful characters,\nsome quite complete. He also showed me a copy of the book of Isaiah,\nwhich had occupied him one hundred and seven days. It was exquisitely\nexecuted.\n\nSeeing upon the table a richly worked book-cover of silk and velvet,\nwith the letters, \"J. N.\" embroidered in olive leaves upon it, I asked\nMary if that, being so elegant, was not for the High Priest.\n\n\"No,\" answered Martha, with brightening eyes, speaking before her\nsister could reply, \"that is for our friend, and the friend and brother\nof Lazarus.\"\n\n\"What is his name?\" I asked.\n\n\"Jesus, of Nazareth.\"\n\n\"I have heard John speak of this person,\" said my cousin Mary, with\nanimation. \"I should feel happy to know him also.\"\n\n\"If you had been here a few days ago,\" replied Martha, \"you would have\nseen him. He left us, after being with us three weeks, to return to\nNazareth. But he requested to meet Lazarus at Bethabara, on the third\nday from this, for some important reason; and my brother will go, for\nhe loves him so that he would cross the seas to meet him.\"\n\n\"Then,\" said Rabbi Amos to Lazarus, \"if you are to journey so soon\ntowards Jordan to meet your friend, you had best join our company and\nshare our escort.\" To this Lazarus consented.\n\nI left this blessed abode with regret, and felt that I should be\nperfectly happy if I could be admitted as a fifth link in the wealth of\ntheir mutual love.\n\nAbout noon we stopped at a caravanserai, half the way to Jericho\nfrom Bethany. Here we overtook a friend of Rabbi Amos, the venerable\nand learned scholar and lawyer, Gamaliel. Accompanying the lawyer,\nGamaliel, was a young man who was his disciple, and who went with\nhim as a companion by the way. His name is Saul, and I noticed him\nparticularly, because I overheard the venerable lawyer say that he was\nthe most remarkable young man who had ever sat at his feet to learn\nthe mysteries of the law. This young law disciple and Lazarus rode\ntogether, and talked long and earnestly by the way, the former thinking\nthat nothing but mischief would come of the new prophet's preaching,\nwhile the latter warmly defended him and his mission as divine. To\ntheir conversation the Roman centurion listened with the closest\nattention, for Saul was learned in the Prophets, and drew richly from\nits stores to prove that the true Messias can never be heralded by so\nmean a messenger as this preacher of repentance in the wilderness.\n\nI now write to thee beneath the roof of the country residence of Rabbi\nAmos. To-morrow early we are going to Bethabara, a little village\nbeyond Jordan, but situated on its banks, near which we learn John is\nnow baptizing. Lazarus has gone on with Saul and the learned Gamaliel,\nwith many lawyers and doctors in company, who desire to see and hear\nthis prophet of the wilderness.\n\nThat the hope of Israel may not be long deferred, and that we may\nreceive the Messias, when he cometh, in humble faith, in honor and in\nlove, is the prayer of\n\n                                       Your affectionate daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER IX.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nIn these letters to you I hope you will pardon the details which I\nenter into, for it is my earnest desire that you should see everything\nwith my eyes, as if you had been present with me, in order that you may\nbe able to judge of the remarkable events of which I have undertaken to\ngive you a complete history.\n\nAfter Rabbi Amos had reached the house in the wheat fields of Gilgal,\nhe kindly told us that he was ready to accompany my cousin Mary and\nmyself to the Jordan to hear the prophet. We had not ridden a great way\nfrom the house when we overtook two men on foot, with staves in their\nhands and wallets upon their shoulders. As we passed, one of them bowed\nwith respect to Rabbi Amos, who, from his rank as a priest and his\nvenerable appearance, always commands the homage of all men.\n\n\"Whither goest thou at such a pace, friend Matthew?\" said Rabbi Amos,\nreturning his salutation. \"Canst thou leave thy tax-gathering these\nbusy times to go into the wilderness?\"\n\nThe person, who was a man of stout figure, with dark hair and beard\nand a look of intelligence, but whose costume was plain and ill-worn,\nsmiled and answered:\n\n\"If a man would find the payers of tribute nowadays, good master, he\nmust not stay at home, forsooth, but go into the wilderness of Jordan.\nVerily, this new prophet emptieth our towns, and we publicans must\nremain idle in our seat of customs or go with the tide.\"\n\n\"And thinkest thou,\" continued my uncle, as the two men walked along by\nthe side of his mule, \"thinkest thou this prophet is a true son of the\nprophets?\"\n\n\"He works no miracles, unless indeed the power of his preaching be a\nmiracle,\" answered Matthew.\n\n\"This man is an impostor. There can be no prophet unless he prove his\nmission by miracles,\" suddenly said the companion of Matthew, speaking\nup abruptly in a sharp and unpleasing voice. Now neither Mary nor I\nliked the face of this man from the first. He was low in height, was\nill-featured, and his attire was mean; but he had a suspicious air,\ncombined with a cringing deference to Rabbi Amos, that made me think\nhe must be a hypocrite. He smiled with his mouth and teeth, but at\nthe same time looked sinister out of his eyes. An air of humility\nseemed to me to be put on to conceal the pride and wickedness of his\ncharacter. He looked like a man who could artfully deceive to gain his\nselfish ends, and who would kneel to you to overturn you. The sound of\nhis voice confirmed my first impression of him. Upon speaking, Rabbi\nAmos fixed his eyes upon him, as if he did not like the manner of his\nbreaking in upon the conversation.\n\n\"What is thy companion's name, friend Matthew?\" he asked aside, as the\nother walked on ahead.\n\n\"His name is Judas, called Iscariot. He hath been engaged by me to bear\nthe moneys I collect in the country villages; and as we are to gather\ntaxes both at Gilgal and Bethabara, he cometh with me.\"\n\nAt length, dear father, after hastening the speed of our mules and\nriding pleasantly for two hours along the verdant banks of Jordan, we\ncame in sight of a square tower of stone, peering above the trees\nwhich marked the site of the village of Bethabara. \"That tower,\" said\nRabbi Amos, \"stands over a cave in which Elijah long dwelt. From the\nsummit of yonder hill, at the left, the prophet was caught up and\nascended to heaven upon the chariot of fire; and near where you see the\nsingle rock, Elisha divided Jordan with the fallen mantle left him by\nthe ascending prophet of God.\"\n\nWhile my eyes were fixed upon the hill, and my imagination presented to\nme Elijah standing upon the chariot of heaven, disappearing amid the\nclouds, there was an opening in the wood before us, and all at once\nwe beheld a scene that made my heart cease to beat, it was so new and\nwonderful. Near the place the winding river takes a broad curve, and\nthe opposite village of Bethabara lies in the hollow of it, forming\nthe center of half a circle. This widely curving shore was alive with\nthe human heads that filled it. And of this vast multitude every eye\nwas concentrated upon the prophet. He was standing near the opposite\nshore (the Jordan here is very narrow and can be forded), in the\nwater, addressing the countless assembly that stood opposite to and\nhalf encircling him. Near him, behind, and on either side, sat his\ndisciples, upon the bank, at least a hundred in number, chiefly young\nmen.\n\nThe clear voice of the youthful prophet of the wilderness fell\ndistinctly on our ears, so great was the stillness of the vast\naudience. To my surprise I saw John, the cousin of Mary, standing\nclose to the prophet, and listening with the deepest and most reverent\nattention to every syllable he uttered. The subject of the prophet's\ndiscourse was as before, and as always, the coming of the Messias. Oh,\nthat I could give you, my dear father, the faintest idea of the power\nand eloquence of his language!\n\n\"Do you ask me if the blood of bulls and goats take not away sin? I\nanswer and say unto you, that the Lord hath said that he delighteth not\nin these rivers of blood,\" he continued earnestly.\n\n\"For what, then, great prophet,\" asked one of the chief Levites, who\nstood near him, \"for what, then, are the sacrifices ordained by the\nlaw of Moses? for what then the altar in the Temple, and the daily\nsacrifice of the lamb?\"\n\n\"For what?\" repeated the prophet, with his eyes beaming with the\nearnest light of inspiration; \"for what but as types and shadows of\nthe real and true sacrifice appointed by God from the foundation of the\nworld? Think ye a man can give the lamb of his flock for himself? Nay,\nmen of Israel, the day has come when your eyes shall be opened. The\nhour is at hand when the true meaning of the daily sacrifice shall be\nunderstood. Lo, the Messiah cometh, and ye shall see and believe!\"\n\nThere now came several persons towards him who desired baptism. While\nhe was baptizing these persons, both men and women, I saw appear\non a little mound near the tower, Lazarus, the brother of Martha,\naccompanied by a man of about his own years, of an indescribable\ndignity and grace of aspect, combined with an air of benevolence and\npeace that at once attracted me.\n\nHe was wrapped in a vesture of dark blue cloth, which was folded about\nhis form; his head was bare, and his hair flowed like a Nazarene's down\nabout his shoulders. He seemed so unlike all other men, in a certain\nmajesty united with sweetness that marked his whole air, that I could\nnot withdraw my gaze from him.\n\nThe prophet at the same moment rested his eyes upon him, and as he did\nso, I saw a change come over his face, as if he had seen an angel. His\neyes shone with unearthly brilliancy; his lips parted as if he would\nspeak, yet had lost the power; and then, with his right hand stretched\nforth towards the noble stranger, he stood for a moment like a statue.\nAll eyes followed his and the direction of his stretched-out arm.\nSuddenly he exclaimed, and oh, how like the trumpet of Horeb his voice\nrang!--\n\n\"Behold!\"\n\nThere was not a face in that vast multitude that was not directed\ntowards the little eminence.\n\n\"Ye have asked wherefore is slain the daily lamb,\" continued the\nprophet. \"The day has come when the lamb of sacrifice, which can take\naway no sin, shall cease. Behold!\" And here he stretched forth both\narms towards the dignified stranger. \"Behold him who taketh away the\ntransgressions of men! He it is who, coming after me, is preferred\nbefore me. He it is to whom I bear witness, as the Messiah, the Son of\nthe Highest! There stands the Christ of God! the only true Lamb, whose\nblood can take away the iniquities of us all. He hath dwelt among you,\nhe hath walked your streets, he hath sat in your homes, and I knew him\nnot, till I now behold on him the sign of the Messiah!\"\n\nWhen the prophet had thus spoken in a voice that thrilled to every\nbosom, we beheld the august stranger advance towards the prophet.\nHe moved on alone. Lazarus had fallen prostrate on his face. As\nhe continued to come forward, all was expectation in the immense\nmultitude. The mass of heads swayed this way and that, to get a sight\nof his face, which I could see was serene, but pale and earnest. John,\nthe cousin of Mary, seeing him approach, lowly knelt, and bowed his\nhead in reverential awe and love. Those who stood between him and the\nprophet moved involuntarily apart, and left an open path for him to the\nwater-side. He walked at a slow and even pace, with an air of humility\nveiling the native dignity of his kingly port.\n\nThe prophet, on seeing him come near, regarded him, as it seemed to me,\nwith far more awe than all others.\n\n\"What wouldst thou of thy servant, O Messiah, Prophet of God, mighty\nto save?\" he said, in tremulous tones, as the stranger came even some\npaces into the water towards him.\n\n\"To be baptized of thee,\" answered the Christ, in a still, quiet voice,\nthat was heard to the remotest bounds of the crowd. Never, oh, never\nshall I forget the sounds of that voice, as it fell upon my ears!\n\n\"I have need to be baptized of thee; and comest thou to me?\" answered\nthe prophet, with the lowliest humility and awe of manner and with\nlooks expressive of his amazement.\n\n\"It becometh us to fulfill all righteousness,\" answered Messiah,\nmildly; and when he had said this, the prophet, though still with a\nmanner of doubt, and with the holiest reverence, administered then unto\nhim, in the sight of all the people, the like baptism which he had\nadministered to his disciples.\n\nAnd now, my dear father, comes to be related the most extraordinary\nthing that ever took place in Israel since the Law was given from Sinai.\n\nNo sooner did the baptized stranger go up out of the water, than there\nwas heard above all our heads a noise as of rolling thunder, although\nthe sky was cloudless; and when in great fear we looked up, we beheld\na dazzling glory far brighter than the sun, and from the midst of this\ncelestial splendor there darted with arrowy velocity a ray of light\nwhich descended and lit upon the head of the Christ. Some of the\npeople said it thundered, and others that it lightened, but judge of\nthe amazement and admiration of all, and the dread awe that shook every\nsoul when, amid the glory above his head, was seen the form of a dove\nof fire, with outspread wings overshadowing him as it were, and from\nthe heavens what was supposed to be thunder shaped itself into a voice,\nwhich uttered these words in the hearing of every ear:\n\n\"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!\"\n\nAt hearing these words from the skies a great part of the multitude\nfell on their faces. Every cheek was pale, and each man gazed on his\nneighbor in wonder and fear. When the majestic, yet terrible, voice\nhad given utterance to these words, the light disappeared, the dove\nre-ascended to the skies and was lost to sight, leaving a halo of\ndivine glory resting upon the head of this \"Son of God.\" He alone\nseemed unmoved and calm amid all this awful scene, and going up the\nriver bank, disappeared mysteriously and suddenly from my earnest\ngaze. At length, when men came a little to themselves, and would gaze\non him whom all knew now to be the Christ, no one could find him, so\neffectually had he withdrawn himself from their homage.\n\n                                                Your affectionate,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER X.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nI shall now resume the narrative interrupted by the close of my last\nletter.\n\nThe excitement which the sudden disappearance of Jesus produced, led to\na universal separation of the multitude. No one knew whence he had gone\nsave John, Mary's cousin, and Lazarus, who reverently followed him.\nThe prophet John, of Jordan, appeared to me to be more surprised at\nwhat had taken place than any others. He looked constantly around for\nJesus, and then, with his hands clasped together and uplifted, gazed\nheavenward, as if satisfied, with the thousands around him, that He had\nbeen received up into heaven.\n\nRabbi Amos and our party remained standing near the water, for he\ndesired to speak with John, who stood alone in the midst of the water,\nprecisely where he had baptized Jesus. Not one of his disciples\nremained with him. Rabbi Amos drew near, and said to him:\n\n\"Holy prophet, knowest thou what man, if man he may be called, was just\nbaptized by thee?\"\n\nThe prophet, whose eyes had been steadfastly raised all the while,\nbent his looks with tearful tenderness upon Rabbi Amos, and said,\nplaintively and touchingly:\n\n\"This is he of whom I spake, After me cometh a man which is preferred\nbefore me, for he was before me. And I knew him not; but he that sent\nme to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt\nsee the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he that\nbaptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw the Spirit descending like a\ndove; and I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God.\"\n\n\"And whither, oh, holy prophet of Jordan,\" asked Rabbi Amos, with deep\nand sacred interest, \"whither has he departed?\"\n\n\"That I know not. He must increase and I must decrease, whether he\nremaineth on earth or has been taken up into heaven. My mission is now\ndrawing to its close, for he to whom I have borne witness is come.\"\n\nThus speaking, he turned and walked out of the water on the side\ntowards Bethabara, and disappeared among the trees that fringed the\nbank. I now looked in the face of Rabbi Amos, upon whose arm Mary was\ntearfully leaning. His face was grave and thoughtful. I said, \"Uncle,\ndost thou believe all that thou hast seen and heard?\"\n\n\"I know not what to say,\" he answered, \"only that the things which\nI have beheld this day are evidences that God has not forgotten his\npeople Israel.\" He said no more. We left the banks of the Jordan in\nsilence and awe, and remounting our mules, returned towards my uncle's\nhouse at Gilgal. On the way we constantly passed crowds of people, all\nin high talk about the wonderful events which had taken place at the\nriver. The impression seemed universally to be that Jesus had gone up\ninto heaven after he was baptized.\n\nBut, my dear father, it is with deep joy that I am able to tell you\nthat this wonderful person is still on the earth. I stated that my\ncousin John and Lazarus had kept their eyes upon him from the first,\nand that they had seen him pass down the river, where some projecting\nand overhanging trees hid him at once from view. Though they often lost\nsight of him, they yet followed him by the print of his sandals in the\nwet sand of the shore, and at length came in view of him, as he was\nleaving the river bank, and going towards the desert, between two low\nhills, which hid him from their eyes.\n\nThey went on, but though they moved forward rapidly, they next saw\nhim far distant, crossing the arid plain that stretches south towards\nJericho and the desert. They ran very swiftly, and at length coming\nnear him, called, \"Master, good master, stay for us, for we would\nfollow and learn of thee!\"\n\nHe stopped, and turned upon them a visage so pale and marred with\nsadness and anguish, that they both stood still and gazed upon him\nwith amazement at beholding such a change. The glory of his beauty had\npassed away, and the beaming splendor which shone upon his countenance\nwas wholly gone. The expression of unutterable sorrow that remained\npierced them to the heart. Lazarus, who had been so long his bosom\nfriend, wept aloud. \"Weep not! thou shalt see me another day, my\nfriends,\" he said. \"I now go to the wilderness, in obedience to the\nSpirit which guideth me thither. Thou shalt, after a time, behold me\nagain. It is expedient for you that I go whither I go.\"\n\n\"Nay, but we will go with thee,\" said Lazarus, earnestly. \"If thou art\nto endure evil, we will be with thee.\"\n\n\"There must be none to help. There must be none to uphold,\" he said\nfirmly, but sadly. \"I must tread the winepress of temptation alone!\"\n\nHe then left them, waving his hand for them to go back. They obeyed\nsorrowfully, wondering what his words meant, and wherefore it was\nneedful for him to go into the desert, where certain mysterious trials\nseemed to wait for him; and they wondered most of all at the change in\nhis countenance, which, from being lustrous with celestial light, was\nnow, said Lazarus, \"marred more than the sons of men.\" From time to\ntime the two young men looked backward to watch the receding figure of\nthe Christ, till they no longer distinguished him in the distance of\nthe desert, towards the dreadful solitudes of which he steadfastly kept\nhis face.\n\nThe two friends came on to the house of Rabbi Amos, at Gilgal, the same\nnight, and we sat together late at night upon the porch under the fig\ntrees, talking of Jesus.\n\nNow, my dear father, how wonderful is all this! That a great Prophet\nis among us, cannot be denied. The star of John the Baptizer's fame\ndwindles into a glow-worm before the glory of this Son of God! That\nhe will draw all men unto him, even into the wilderness, if he takes\nup his abode there, cannot be questioned. But all is mystery, awe,\ncuriosity, wonder, and excitement just now.\n\nMay the God of our fathers' house come forth indeed from the heavens,\nfor the salvation of his people!\n\n                                          Your devoted and loving,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XI.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nIn my last letter to you I spoke of our return from Jordan to Gilgal.\nAt the house were assembled not only John, the cousin of Mary, and the\nnoble Lazarus, but also Gamaliel and Saul. The court of the dwelling\nwas thronged with strangers, and the common people who, being far from\ntheir homes and without food, had freely been invited to lodgings and\nfood by the hospitable priest.\n\nAs we sat up late conversing with deep interest upon the remarkable\nevents of the day, an observation made by John, when speaking of the\nchange in the face of Jesus, that \"His face was marred more than the\nsons of men,\" led the venerable Gamaliel to say to us:\n\n\"Those are the words of the prophet Esaias, and are truly spoken by him\nof Messias, when he shall come.\"\n\n\"Let us consult Esaias, then, and see what further he hath said,\" cried\nRabbi Amos. \"Mary, bring hither the roll of the Prophets.\"\n\nMy Cousin Mary returned, and placed the book on a small stand before\nhim.\n\n\"Read aloud, worthy Rabbi,\" said the philosopher Gamaliel, \"we will\nall listen; for though I do not believe this young man who was to-day\nbaptized is Messias and the Christ, who is to restore all things to us,\nyet I am prepared to reverence him as a great prophet.\"\n\n\"And,\" answered Rabbi Amos, \"if we find the prophecies do meet in him\nthat which we look for to meet in Messias when he cometh, wilt thou\nbelieve, venerable father?\"\n\n\"I will believe and reverently adore,\" answered the sage, bowing his\nhead till his flowing white beard almost touched his knees.\n\n\"Read Adina, for thy eyes are young,\" said my uncle; and I read as\nfollows:\n\n\"'Behold, my Servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and\nextolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at thee; his visage\nwas so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of\nmen.'\"\n\n\"How completely,\" said John, \"those words describe his appearance on\nthe verge of the desert, and yet I used them unconsciously.\"\n\n\"But,\" said Saul, Gamaliel's disciple, \"if this be prophesied of the\nChrist, then we are to have a Christ of humiliation, and not one of\nhonor and glory. Read one part which you have omitted, maiden.\"\n\nI read on as follows: \"'Behold, my Servant shall be exalted and\nextolled, and be very high. He shall sprinkle many nations; the kings\nshall shut their mouths at him. He shall lift up his hand to the\nGentiles, and set up his standard to the people. Kings shall bow down\nto him with their faces to the earth, and lick up the dust of his\nfeet!'\"\n\n\"There! Such is our Messias!\" exclaimed Saul.\n\n\"Yes, it is a Christ of power and dominion who is to redeem Israel,\"\nadded Gamaliel; \"not an unknown young man, scarcely thirty years of\nage, who came from whence no one knoweth, and hath gone as he came. As\nfor the Christ, we shall know whence he cometh!\"\n\nAt hearing this great and good man thus discourse, dear father, my\nheart sank within me, for Lazarus had already told us that his friend\nJesus was of humble birth, a carpenter's son, and his mother a widow;\nthat he had known him from boyhood, but known him only to love him. I\nnow looked towards him, but I took courage when I saw that the words\nof Gamaliel did not in the least dim the light of faith and confidence\nwhich brightly sparkled in his eyes, that his friend Jesus was truly\nMessias of God. But my eye fell on what follows, and as I read it I\ngained more confidence: \"He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we\nshall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.\"\n\n\"If the first part of this prophecy,\" said Lazarus, his fine eyes\nlighting up, as he looked at Saul, \"be of the Christ, as you have just\nnow confessed, then is this last of him; and the fact that you reject\nhim is but the fulfillment of this part of the prophecy.\"\n\nHereupon arose a very warm discussion between Gamaliel and Saul on one\nside, and Rabbi Amos, John and Lazarus on the other.\n\n\"But let this be as it may,\" said John, after the arguments on both\nsides had been mainly exhausted, \"how will you, O Gamaliel, and you,\nSaul, get over the extraordinary voice and fiery appearance which\ndistinguished the baptism?\"\n\n\"That must have been a phenomenon of nature, or done by the art of the\nfamed Babylonish sorcerer, whom I saw prominent in the multitude,\"\nanswered the philosopher.\n\n\"Did you not hear the words?\" asked Rabbi Amos.\n\n\"Yes, Rabbi; nevertheless, they may have been thrown into the air from\nthe lungs of this sorcerer; for they do marvelous things.\"\n\n\"Would you suppose that a sorcerer would be disposed to apply the\nsacred words of the Lord?\" asked John, earnestly.\n\n\"By no means,\" he answered, reverently.\n\n\"If Rabbi Amos will allow me, I will show you the very words in King\nDavid's prophecies of Messias.\"\n\nAll looked with interest on John, as he took from his mantle a roll of\nthe Psalms. He opened it and read as follows:\n\n\"'Why do the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against\nhis Anointed? I will declare the decree. The Lord hath said unto me,\nThou art my Son.'\"\n\nUpon hearing this read, Gamaliel was thoughtful.\n\n\"It is extraordinary,\" answered he. \"I will search the Scriptures when\nI reach Jerusalem, to see if these things be so.\"\n\n\"But,\" said Saul, with some vehemence, \"listen while I read some\nprophecies also.\" And he unrolled the book of the Prophets and read\nthese words:\n\n\"'Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands\nof Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to\nbe ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from\neverlasting.'\n\n\"Now, you will confess, Rabbi Amos,\" he added, with a look of triumph,\n\"that this word refers to our expected Messias?\"\n\n\"Without doubt,\" answered my uncle, \"but--\"\n\n\"Wait, I beseech you, learned Rabbi,\" said Saul, \"until I read you\nanother prophecy.\" And he read: \"'I have made a covenant with David,\nThy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all\ngenerations. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun\nbefore me. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise\nunto David a righteous Branch.'\n\n\"Now, you will all admit, brethren, that these prophecies refer to\nMessias. He is therefore to come of the lineage of David, and he is to\nbe born in Bethlehem. Show me that this Jesus, the Nazarene, fulfills\nboth conditions in his own person, and I will prepare to believe in\nhim.\"\n\nThis was said haughtily, and with the air of one who cannot be answered.\n\nBut immediately Lazarus rose to his feet and said: \"Although I did not\nrecollect this prophecy, that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, yet I\nam overjoyed to find the fact respecting Jesus fulfills it. He was born\nin Bethlehem of Judah. This I have known some years, and--\"\n\nHere, while my heart was bounding with joy, Gamaliel said sternly, \"I\nthought this man was born in Nazareth?\"\n\n\"He has lived,\" answered Lazarus, \"in Nazareth from childhood only.\nDuring the days when C\u00e6sar Augustus issued a decree that all the world\nshould be taxed, his mother, and Joseph her husband, went up to the\nCity of David to be taxed, which is Bethlehem, and there Jesus was\nborn, as I have often heard from her lips.\"\n\n\"Admitting, then, that he was born in Bethlehem,\" said Saul, \"you have\nto prove his lineage from David's line.\"\n\n\"Wherefore did his parents go to Bethlehem, David's city, unless they\nwere of his royal line?\" asked Rabbi Amos, \"for none went to any other\ncity to be taxed than that of their own family. The fact that they went\nthere is strong evidence that they were of David's house.\"\n\n\"Every one born in the city of David,\" remarked Gamaliel, \"is not of\nnecessity of David's house; but it is surprising if this Jesus really\nwas born in Bethlehem.\"\n\n\"But may not his lineage be ascertained without a doubt from the\nrecords of the tribes, and of their families, kept by command of the\nlaw of the Temple?\" I asked of my uncle.\n\n\"Without question. These books of the generations of our people are to\nbe relied on,\" he answered.\n\n\"In fact,\" said Gamaliel, \"they are kept with the greatest accuracy,\nand it is so ordained by God, for the very reason that when Messias\ncometh we may know whether he who claims to be such be of the house of\nDavid or no. I will examine the book of the generations, and see if his\nmother and father come of the stock and seed of David.\"\n\n\"And if you find that they do,\" asked John, with emotion, \"can you\ndoubt any longer whether Jesus be the Christ? Will not the fact of his\nbeing born in Bethlehem, and of the lineage of David, not to speak of\nthe witness of God's own audible voice, heard by our ears this day,\nwill not these facts lead you to believe that he is the Christ?\"\n\n\"They will prevent me from actually rejecting him,\" answered the cold\nphilosopher. \"But every child born in Bethlehem, and of the house of\nDavid, and there are many of them in Judah, fulfills, so far, the\nconditions of these two prophecies; these are not, therefore, Messiahs.\"\n\n\"What more can you ask for?\" asked Mary, with feeling, for she strongly\nbelieved that Jesus was the Christ.\n\n\"Miracles,\" answered the disciple of Gamaliel, glancing at the face of\nhis master inquiringly.\n\n\"Yes, miracles,\" also answered the sage. \"The Messiah is to heal the\nsick by a word, restore sight to the blind, cast out devils, and even\nraise the dead.\"\n\n\"If he restore the blind and raise the dead, I will doubt no longer,\"\nanswered Saul.\n\nThere was at this moment an interruption caused by noisy altercations\nin the court among some of John the Baptist's disciples. Rabbi Amos, as\nhost, went out to put an end to these disputings, when Gamaliel retired\nto his chamber, and the conversation was not renewed.\n\n                                                    Your daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nLet me resume the interesting subject of which my letters have been so\nfull.\n\nIt is now eight weeks since our return from Gilgal. For five weeks\nafter we reached Jerusalem, we heard nothing of Jesus, until John, son\nof Elisaph, reappeared. He and Lazarus came into the city together, and\nto the house of Rabbi Amos. Our first inquiry was:\n\n\"Have you seen him? Have you heard anything from him?\"\n\n\"John has seen him,\" answered Lazarus, seriously. \"Ask him, and he will\ntell you all.\"\n\nWe looked at John, who sat sad and pensive, as if he were dwelling in\nhis mind upon some painful, yet tender, sorrow. The eyes of my Cousin\nMary, which always caught their lustre from his, were shaded with an\ninquiring look of sympathy and solicitude.\n\n\"You are not well, I fear,\" she said, placing her fair hand upon his\nwhite brow, and putting back the hair from his temples. \"You have been\nlong away, and are weary and ill.\"\n\n\"Weary, Mary? I shall never complain of weariness again, after what I\nhave beheld.\"\n\n\"What have you seen?\" I asked.\n\n\"Jesus in the desert; and when I remember him there, I shall forget to\nsmile more.\"\n\n\"You have found him, then?\" I eagerly asked.\n\n\"Yes, after days of painful search. I found him in the very center of\nthe Desert of Ashes, where foot of man had never trodden before. I saw\nhim upon his knees, and heard his voice in prayer. I laid down the sack\nof bread and fishes and the skin of water I had brought with me to\nsuccor him, and with awe drew near where he stood.\n\n\"As I came closer to him, I heard him groan in spirit, and he seemed to\nbe borne down to the earth by some mortal agony. He was, as it were,\ntalking to some invisible evil beings who assailed him.\n\n\"'Rabbi, good Master,' I said, 'I have brought thee food and water.\nPardon me if I have intruded upon thy awful loneliness, which is sacred\nto some deep grief; but I weep with thee for thy woes, and in all thy\nafflictions I am afflicted. Eat, that thou mayest have strength to\nendure thy mysterious sufferings.'\n\n\"He turned his pale countenance full upon me, and extended towards me\nhis emaciated hands, while he smiled faintly, and blessed me and said:\n\n\"'Son, thou art very dear to me. Thou shalt one day be afflicted for\nme, but not now, and then understand wherefore I am now a sufferer in\nthe desert.'\n\n\"'Let me remain with thee, Divine Messias,' I said.\n\n\"'Thou believest, then, that I am he?' he answered, regarding me with\nlove.\n\n\"I replied by casting myself at his desert-parched feet, and bathing\nthem with my tears. He raised me and said, 'Go thy way presently. When\nthe time of my fasting and temptation is past, I will see thee again.'\n\n\"'Nay, I will not leave thee,' I asserted.\n\n\"'If thou lovest me, beloved, thou wilt obey me,' he answered, with a\ntone of gentle reproof.\n\n\"'But thou wilt first eat of the bread I have brought, and drink of the\nwater,' I entreated.\n\n\"'Thou knowest not what temptation thou art offering to me,' he\nreplied, sadly. 'Thou hast not enough for thine own needs. Go, and\nleave me to gain the victory over Satan, the prince of this world, for\nwhich I was led by the Spirit thither.'\n\n\"I once more cast myself at his feet, and he lifted me up, kissing me,\nand sent me away. Oh, you would not have known him! Worn and emaciated\nby long abstinence, weak through suffering, he looked but the shadow of\nhimself. He could not have lived thus if there had not been a divine\npower within to sustain him! His existence so long, for he had been in\nthe desert five weeks without food when I found him, was a miracle in\nitself, proving the power of God to be in him.\"\n\n\"For what mighty work among men is God preparing him?\" said Rabbi Amos,\nwith emotion. \"Surely he is a prophet come from God.\"\n\n\"Think you he still lives?\" I asked, with anxious fears, scarcely\ntrusting my voice above a whisper.\n\n\"Yes,\" answered John. \"I am come to tell you he was divinely sustained\nthrough all; and after forty days he came forth from the wilderness,\nand suddenly presented himself on the banks of Jordan, among John's\ndisciples. I was standing near the Baptizer, discoursing of the Christ,\nand marvelling when his exile to the desert would terminate, when the\nprophet, lifting his eyes, cried with a loud voice full of joy:\n\n\"'Behold again the Lamb of God, upon whom the Spirit of God descended!\nHe hath come from the furnace like gold seven times tried in the fire!\nHe it is who alone taketh away the sins of the world!'\n\n\"I turned and beheld Jesus advancing. He was pale and wore an\nexpression of gentle, uncomplaining suffering on his benign and\nspiritualized countenance. I hastened to meet him, and was kneeling in\njoy at his feet, when he embraced me as a brother and said, 'Faithful,\nand full of love, wilt thou follow me?'\n\n\"'I will nevermore leave thee,' I answered.\n\n\"'Where dwellest thou, divine Master?' then asked one of John's\ndisciples, Andrew by name, who was with me.\n\n\"'Come, my friends, and see,' he answered; and we went after him with\njoy unutterable.\n\n\"He entered the village of Bethabara, and, approaching the house of a\nwidow, where he abode, went in. We followed him, and by his request\ntook up our abode with him. Oh, how shall I be able to make known by\nwords,\" added John, \"the sweet expression of his discourse! In one day\nin his presence I grew wise; his words filled the soul like new wine\nand made the heart glad. The next day he wished to go into Galilee, and\nso on to Nazareth, where his mother dwelleth; and as I have made up my\nmind to follow him as his disciple henceforth, I have only come hither\nto make known my purpose to Mary, and to arrange my affairs in the\ncity. To-morrow I will leave again, to join this, my dear Lord, at Cana\nof Galilee.\"\n\n\"Canst thou divine at all his purpose?\" asked Rabbi Amos of John,\n\"whether he intends to found a school of wisdom, to preach like the\nprophets, to reign like David, or to conquer like his warrior namesake,\nJoshua?\"\n\n\"I know not, save that he said he came to redeem that which was lost,\nand to establish a kingdom that shall have no end.\"\n\nUpon hearing this, all our hearts bounded with hope and confidence in\nhim, and we all together burst forth into a voice of thanksgiving, and\nsang this hymn of praise:\n\n  \"O sing unto the Lord a new song. He hath done marvelous things; his\n  right hand and his holy arm hath gotten the victory.\n\n  \"The Lord hath made known his salvation; his righteousness hath he\n  openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.\n\n  \"He hath remembered his mercy and his truth towards the house of\n  Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.\"\n\nThere was this morning, dear father, no little excitement produced\namong the chief priests by a formal inquiry sent by Pilate to\nCaiaphas, the High Priest, asking whether this new prophet was to be\nacknowledged by them as their Messiah, \"for, if he is to be, it will\nbe my duty,\" said the Governor, \"to place him under arrest, inasmuch\nas we understand the Jewish Messias is to declare himself king.\"\nUpon this there was a tumultuous assembling together of the priests\nin the porch of the Temple, and with many invectives they agreed to\nsend answer to Pilate that they did not acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth\nto be the Christ. What Pilate will conclude to do, I know not. Rabbi\nAmos informed us that the Procurator had got some news by courier that\nmorning that Jesus, on his way to Cana, had been followed by a full\nthousand people, who hailed him as the Christ.\n\nThus you see, my dear father, that this divine person is already taking\nhold of the hearts of the people, and arousing the jealousy of our\nenemies. Be assured that the day will come when he will lift up his\nstandard to the Gentiles, and draw all men unto him.\n\n                                                      Your loving,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XIII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nSince I last wrote you, my faith has been confirmed by the testimony\nwhich in one of your letters you demanded. You said, \"Let me hear that\nhe has done an authentic miracle in attestation of the divinity of his\nmission--such a miracle as was prophesied Messias shall do, as healing\nthe sick by a word, restoring the blind to sight, and raising the\ndead--and I will prepare to believe in him.\"\n\nMiracle he has performed, dear father, and one the genuineness of which\nis not disputed by any one. I can give you the particulars best by\nextracting from a letter written by John to Mary, a few days after his\ndeparture to join Jesus at Nazareth:\n\n\"Upon reaching Nazareth,\" says the letter, \"I was guided to the humble\ndwelling occupied by the mother of Jesus, by a large concourse of\npeople gathered about it, of whom inquiring, I learned that it was to\nsee the new Prophet they had thus assembled. 'What new Prophet?' I\nasked, wishing to know what the multitude thought of Jesus.\n\n\"'The one of whom John of the wilderness foretold,' answered one.\n\n\"'They say he is Messias,' replied another.\n\n\"'He is the Christ,' boldly asserted a third.\n\n\"Hereupon a Levite standing by, said scornfully, 'Does Christ come out\nof the country of Galilee? You read the Prophets to little purpose,\nif you see therein any Christ prophesied to come out of Nazareth\nof Galilee.' Hereupon, seeing the faith of many staggered, I said,\n'Brethren, Christ is truly to be of Bethlehem, and verily Jesus, though\nnow he dwelleth in this place, was born in Bethlehem.'\n\n\"'Thou canst not prove it, man!' said the Levite angrily.\n\n\"'The stranger speaketh truly,' spoke up both an old man and a\ngray-haired woman in the crowd. 'We know that he was not born here, and\nthat when his parents moved hither, when he was an infant, they then\nsaid he was born in Bethlehem. We all remember this well.'\n\n\"Hereupon the Levite, seeing that he had not the people with him,\npassed on his way, while I went to the door of the house where Jesus\ndwelt with his mother. There were two doors, one of which led into a\nworkshop, where I noticed the bench and tools of the occupation at\nwhich he had toiled to support himself and his mother. But when, as I\nentered the dwelling, I saw him standing, teaching those who hung on\nhis lips, and listened to his calm voice, and heard the sublime wisdom\nof his instructions, beheld the dignity of his aspect, and felt the\nheavenly benignity of his manner, I forgot the carpenter, I forgot the\nman, and seemed to behold in him only Messiah the Prince, the Son of\nGod.\n\n\"Upon beholding me, he extended his hand, and received me graciously,\nand said, pointing to five men who stood near him, regarding him with\nmingled love and reverence, 'These are thy brethren, who have also come\nout of the world to follow me.'\n\n\"Of these, one was Andrew, who had been, as well as myself, John's\ndisciple. Another was Andrew's brother, whose name is Simon, whom\nJesus, from the firmness and immovable zeal of his character, which\nhe seemed to understand, called also Peter, or Stone. The fourth\ndisciple was of Bethsaida. His name was Philip, and he followed Jesus\nfrom having been prepared by John the Baptist to receive him. He was,\nmoreover, so overjoyed at finding the Christ, that he ran to the house\nof his kinsman, Nathaniel, and finding him in his garden, beneath a fig\ntree, at prayer, exclaimed:\n\n\"'We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did\nwrite, the Messias of God!'\n\n\"'Where is he, that I may behold him?' asked his relative, rising.\n\n\"'It is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph,' Philip answered.\n\n\"Upon hearing this answer, the countenance of Nathaniel fell, and he\nreplied:\n\n\"'Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?'\n\n\"'Come thou and see for thyself,' answered Philip.\n\n\"Nathaniel then went with him where Jesus was. When Jesus saw him\napproaching, he said to those about him:\n\n\"'Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile!'\n\n\"'Whence knowest thou me?' asked Nathaniel, with surprise, for he had\nheard the words which were spoken. Jesus answered and said:\n\n\"'Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw\nthee.'\n\n\"Upon hearing this Nathaniel, who knew that he was all alone in his\ngarden and unseen at prayer when his brother came, regarded the serene\nface of Jesus steadfastly, and then, as if he beheld therein the\nexpression of omnipresence, he cried before all the people:\n\n\"'Rabbi, thou art the Son of God! Thou art the King of Israel!'\n\n\"Jesus looked upon him as if pleased at his confession, and said:\n\n\"'Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest\nthou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. Verily, verily, I say\nunto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God\nascending and descending upon the Son of man.'\n\n\"The next day James, my brother, and I went to the sea of Tiberias,\nbut two hours distant, to see our father Zebedee, and transfer our\ninterests to him; and, during the afternoon, Jesus passed near the\nshore on his way to Cana, when, calling us, we forever left our ships\nand our father and joined him. His mother and many of her kinsfolk were\nof the company, all going to a marriage of the cousin of the family.\nUpon our arrival at Cana, we were ushered into the guest chamber.\n\n\"The marriage feast at length commenced. The wine which should have\ncome from Damascus had not arrived, the caravan having been delayed\nby the insurrection near Cesarea, and the chief ruler of the town,\npresiding at the feast, seeing that the wine had given out, bade the\nservants to place more upon the board. The mother of Jesus, who knew\nthat the wine was out, and that, looking upon this as an ill omen, the\nfamily of the bride were in great distress, turned to Jesus and said,\n'They have no wine.'\n\n\"The holy Prophet of God looked grave and said, applying to her the\ntitle which we deem most honorable of all others, 'Woman, what have I\nto do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.'\n\n\"She must have understood his words, all mysterious as they were to me,\nfor, turning to the servants, she beckoned to them, while her cheek\nborrowed a rich color from her hidden joy, and her eyes kindled with\nloving sympathy for those about to be relieved in their distress. When\ntwo or three of the servants had approached, she said to them:\n\n\"'Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.'\n\n\"The face of Jesus, ever calm and dignified, now seemed to assume\na look of majesty inexpressible, and his eyes to express a certain\nconsciousness of power within, that awed me. Casting his glance upon\nseveral stone vases, which stood by the door empty, he said to the\nservants:\n\n\"'Fill the water pots with water.'\n\n\"In the court, in full sight from the table, was a well to which the\nservants forthwith went with jars, which I saw them fill with water,\nbear it in upon their heads, and pour it out into the water pots, until\nthey had filled them all to the brim.\n\n\"In the meantime the governor of the feast and the majority of the\nguests were absorbed in conversation and did not observe what was\ntaking place.\n\n\"'Draw out now and bear unto the governor of the feast,' said Jesus to\nthe servants.\n\n\"They obeyed, and pouring rich, blood-red wine from the jars which I\nand others had seen filled up with simple water from the well, the\namazed servants bore it to the chief of the feast. He had no sooner\nfilled his goblet and tasted it, than he called to the bridegroom, who\nsat in the middle of the table, and said:\n\n\"'Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men\nhave well drunk, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good\nwine until now.'\n\n\"'Who hath brought this wine?' asked the bridegroom, drinking of the\nwater that was made wine. 'Whence it came, sir, I know not.'\n\n\"Then the servants and others told that they had filled the six water\npots with water to the brim, at the command of Jesus the Prophet, and\nthat when they drew out, behold it flowed forth wine instead of water!\nUpon this there was a general exclamation of surprise, and the governor\nof the feast, crying out, 'A great prophet indeed hath been among us,\nand we knew it not!' rose to approach and do honor to Jesus; but he had\nalready conveyed himself away, at once rising and passing out through\nthe door, and seeking the solitude of the gardens.\"\n\nThe rumor of the miracle at Cana has reached Jerusalem since I began\nthis letter, and I hear that it has produced no little excitement in\nthe market-places and courts of the Temple. Rabbi Amos, on his return\nfrom sacrifice, a few minutes ago, said that he saw, in the court of\nthe Temple, more than thirty priests with rolls of the Prophets in\ntheir hands, engaged in looking up the prophecies of the Christ.\n\n                                       Your affectionate daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XIV.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nYou will not require the testimony of my letters to enable you to\nappreciate the fame of the wonderful young man of Nazareth, Jesus, of\nwhose works you must have heard ere this. His fame for wisdom, for\nknowledge of the Scriptures, for power to teach, and for miracles,\nhas gone abroad through all Syria, so that they bring to him sick\npersons, both rich and poor, even from Damascus, to be healed of him;\nand he heals all who are brought unto him, whether possessed of devils,\nlunatic, or having the palsy. While I now write, a company is passing\nthe open window, bearing upon beds two wealthy men of Jerusalem, given\nover by their physicians, who are going to him to be cured.\n\n\"So great is the multitude which everywhere follows Jesus,\" writes John\nto Mary, \"that he is often compelled to withdraw from them by stealth,\nto get to some by-place of quiet where he can refresh his wearied\nstrength for a few days. At such times we, who are his immediate\nfollowers, have the benefit of his teaching and private instructions.\nBut he cannot remain long away from the people. They soon penetrate\nhis retirement. How wonderful is he who thus holds in his hands divine\npower! The authority of kings is nothing before that which he possesses\nin his voice; yet he is serene, humble, oh, how humble! to our shame;\nand always calm and gentle. He spends much time in private prayer to\nGod, whom he always addresses as his Father. Never was such a man on\nearth. We, who know him most intimately, stand most in awe of him; yet\nwith our deep reverence for his holy character is combined the purest\naffection. In one and the same breath I feel that I adore him as my\nLord, and love him even as my brother. So we all feel toward him.\"\n\nSuch, my dear father, is the tenor of all John's letters. When we shall\nsee Jesus at Jerusalem, I shall be able from personal observation to\nwrite to you more particularly concerning his doctrines and miracles.\nWhat is also of importance, it has been proven by the results of the\nexamination made by some of the scribes of the Temple, that he was\ntruly born in Bethlehem, and that both his mother Mary, and Joseph\nher husband, are lineal descendants of the house of David. Moreover\nPhineas, the venerable priest, whom you know, hath borne testimony to\nthe fact that when Jesus was an infant, during the reign of the elder\nHerod, there arrived in Jerusalem three eminent princes, men of wisdom\nand learning. One of these came from Persia, one from the Grecian\nprovince of Media, and one from Arabia, and brought with them gifts of\ngold and spices, and were attended by retinues. These three princes\nreached Jerusalem the same day by three different ways, and entered\nby three different gates, each unknowing to the other's presence\nor object, till they met in the city before Herod's palace. One\nrepresented himself descended from Shem, another from Japhet, the third\nfrom Ham. And they mysteriously, it is said, typified all the races of\nthe earth who by them recognized and adored the Savior of men in the\nchild Jesus. The king, hearing that these three strangers had arrived\nin Jerusalem, sent to know wherefore they had honored his kingdom with\na visit. \"They answered,\" says Phineas, \"that they came to do homage to\nthe young prince, who was born king of the Jews.\" And when Herod asked\nwhat prince they spoke of, they answered, \"We have seen his star in the\nEast, and are come to worship him.\"\n\n\"Hereupon,\" says Phineas, \"the king issued an edict for all the chief\npriests and scribes of the people to assemble in the council chamber of\nhis palace. He then addressed them:\n\n\"'Ye to whom is given the care of the books of the Law and the\nProphets, whose study they are, and in whom lies the skill to interpret\nthe prophecies, search therein, and tell me truly where the Christ is\nto be born. Behold here present these august and wise men who have come\nfrom afar to do him homage; nay more, as they aver, to worship him as\nGod. Let us have the courtesy to give them the answer that they seek,\nand let us not be found more ignorant of these things than those who\ndwell in other lands.'\n\n\"Several of the chief priests then rose and said: 'It is known, O king,\nto all who are Jews, and who read the Prophets, that Messias cometh of\nthe house of David, of the town of Bethlehem; for thus it is written by\nthe prophet: \"And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not least\namong the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that\nshall rule my people Israel.\"'\n\n\"This question being thus decided,\" continued Phineas, \"Herod dismissed\nthe council, and retiring to his own private room, secretly sent to\nthe three princes of the East to inquire of them what time the star\nappeared. He then said to them:\n\n\"'You have my permission, noble strangers, to go to Bethlehem, and\nsearch for the young child: and when ye have found him, bring me word\nagain, that I may come and worship him also.' Then they left the\npresence of Herod, and it being dark when they left the palace, they\nwere overjoyed to behold the star which they saw in the East, going\nbefore them. They followed it until it left Jerusalem by the Bethlehem\ngate, and it led them on to the town of Bethlehem, and stopped above\nan humble dwelling therein. When they were come into the house, they\nsaw the rays of the star resting upon the head of an infant in the arms\nof its mother Mary, the wife of Joseph. They at once acknowledged and\nhailed him as Prince and King of Israel, and falling down, worshiped\nhim; and opening their treasures, they presented unto him gold,\nfrankincense and myrrh, gifts that are offered on the altar to God\nalone.\"\n\nWhen Phineas was asked by Caiaphas how he knew this fact, he answered\nthat he himself, prompted by curiosity to see the prince they had come\nto worship, had followed them out of the palace of Herod, out of\nthe gate, and even into Bethlehem, and witnessed their prostrations\nand offerings to the infant child of Mary. \"And,\" he added, \"if\nthis be doubted, there are many Jews now living in Jerusalem, and a\ncertain Hebrew captain, now stricken in years, who can testify to the\nslaughter, by Herod's command, of the infants of Bethlehem; for this\ncaptain, Jeremias, led on the soldiers.\"\n\n\"And wherefore this slaughter?\" asked Caiaphas. \"It is not on record.\"\n\n\"Kings do not record their deeds of violence,\" answered Phineas. \"Herod\nkept it hushed up when he found that he gained nothing by it but\nhatred. He slew them in order that the infant Jesus might be destroyed\namong them; for the three wise men, instead of returning through\nJerusalem to their own country, and informing him where they had found\nthe child, departed by another way. But the child escaped, doubtless by\nGod's powerful protection.\"\n\n\"Dost thou believe in him also?\" asked Caiaphas, with angry surprise,\nlooking sternly on Phineas.\n\n\"I will first see and hear him speak, and if he be proven to me to be\nMessias, I will gladly worship him.\"\n\n\"Hereupon,\" said Rabbi Amos, \"there arose a great uproar, some crying\nthat Jesus was the Christ, and others that Phineas should be stoned to\ndeath.\"\n\nThus you see, my dear father, how the evidence increases in value and\nimportance, proving Jesus to be the Messiah. Tell me, is not this the\nChrist?\n\n                                     Your affectionate and loving,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XV.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nThe inquiry you made in your last letter, \"What hath become of the\nprophet of Jordan, since the fame of Jesus hath so eclipsed his\nown?\" I can answer but with sadness. The mission on which John came\nterminated when Jesus came. Soon afterwards he left the wilderness and\nentered Jericho, where Herod chanced to be visiting. Here he preached\nin the public places, and in the market, and on the very steps of the\nGovernor's palace. Now while he was thus speaking to the people, and\nthe officers and soldiers of the Tetrarch's guard, Herod himself came\nforth upon the balcony to listen. The prophet no sooner beheld him\nthan he boldly addressed him, and sternly reproved him for the sin of\nhaving married the wife of his brother Philip, contrary to the law.\nNow Herod, it is said, did not show resentment at his plain dealings,\nbut, inviting the prophet into his hall, talked much with him, and in\nparting offered him gifts, which John refused to touch. The next day he\nsent for him again to ask him some questions touching the Messias of\nwhom he preached. Now Herodia, when it was reported to her, after the\nreturn of Herod from Jericho to his Tetrarchy, how that the prophet had\npublicly spoken against her marriage with Herod, became very angry; and\nwhen she found that John was still favored by her husband, she sent for\nHerod and said that if he would please her he must throw the prophet\nof Jordan into prison. At length Herod yielded, against his own will,\nand gave orders for the arrest of the prophet; who, the same night, was\nthrown into the ward of the castle. For some weeks this holy man, whose\nonly offense was that he had the courage to reprove sin in high places,\nremained in bonds, while Herod each day sought to find some excuse for\nreleasing him without displeasing Herodia, of whose anger he stood\nin great fear, being an abject slave to his love for her. At length\nthe birthday of Herod arrived, and he conveyed word to John that in\nhonor of the day he would send and fetch him out of prison as soon as\nhe should obtain the consent of his wife, which he believed she would\naccord to him on such an anniversary.\n\nNow, after the feast, Philippa, the daughter of Herodia, and of her\nformer husband Philip, came in and danced before Prince Herod; and\nbeing beautiful in person and full of grace in every motion, she so\npleased her step-father that he made a great oath, having drunk much\nwine with his guests, that he would give her whatsoever she would\nask, were it the half of his kingdom. Her mother then called her, and\nwhispered to her imperatively.\n\n\"Give me,\" said the maiden, turning towards Herod, \"the head, now, of\nJohn the Baptist in a charger.\"\n\nThe Tetrarch no sooner heard this request than he turned pale, and said\nfiercely:\n\n\"Thy mother hath been tampering with thine ears, girl. Ask half of\nmy kingdom and I will give it thee, but let me not shed blood on my\nbirthday.\"\n\n\"Wilt thou falsify thine oath?\" asked his wife, scornfully.\n\n\"For mine oath's sake, and for those who have heard it, I will\ngrant thy desire,\" he at length answered, with a sigh of regret and\nself-reproach. He then turned to the captain of the guard and commanded\nhim to slay John Baptist in prison, and bring presently there his head\nupon a charger.\n\nAt the end of a quarter of an hour, which was passed by Herod in great\nexcitement, walking up and down the floor, and by his guests in silent\nexpectation, the door opened, and the captain of the guard entered,\nfollowed by the executioner, who carried a brazen platter upon which\nlay the gory head of the eloquent forerunner of Christ.\n\n\"Give it to her!\" cried Herod, sternly, waving him towards the\nbeautiful maiden who stood near the inner door. The executioner placed\nthe charger in her hands; and, with a smile of triumph, she bore it to\nher mother, who had retired to an inner room.\n\nAll the disciples of the murdered prophet then went where Jesus was\npreaching and healing, and told him what had been done to John. \"When\nJesus heard of the death of John, he was very sorrowful,\" writes John\nto Mary, \"and went away into a desert place apart.\" In the meanwhile\nthe disciples of John Baptist fled, some into the deserts, while\nothers sought Jesus to protect and counsel them. At length he found\nhimself surrounded by a great multitude, chiefly of John's disciples,\nbesides many who had come to hear him preach and be healed of him. The\nplace was a desert and far from any town. Forgetful of all else, save\nfollowing Jesus, they were without food. \"Which,\" says John, writing\nto Rabbi Amos, \"we who were his disciples seeing, suggested that Jesus\nshould send them away to the villages to buy themselves victuals. But\nJesus answered us, and said quietly:\n\n\"'They need not go away; give ye them to eat.'\n\n\"And Simon said, 'Master, where can we get bread for so many? We have\namong us but five loaves and two small fishes.'\n\n\"Upon hearing this, Jesus said, 'It is enough; bring them hither to me.'\n\n\"We collected the bread and fishes, and I, myself, laid them upon a\nrock before Jesus. He then said to us, 'Command the multitude to sit\ndown on the grass.' And when they were all seated, he took the five\nloaves and laying his hands upon them and upon the two fishes, he\nlooked up to heaven and blessed them, and then, breaking them into\nfragments, he gave them to us his disciples, and bade us distribute to\nthe people. As often as we would return for more, we found the loaves\nand the fishes undiminished, and I saw with wonder how, when this\nProphet of God would break off a piece of one of the fishes or of a\nloaf, the same part would immediately be seen thereon as if it had not\nbeen separated; and in this manner he continued to break and distribute\nto us for nearly an hour, until all ate as much as they would. When no\none demanded more, he commanded us to gather up the fragments which lay\nby his side, and there were twelve baskets full over and above what\nwas needed. The number that was thus miraculously fed was about five\nthousand men, besides nearly an equal number of women and children. And\nthis mighty Prophet, who could thus feed an army, voluntarily suffered\nforty days and nights the pangs of hunger in the desert! He seems a man\nin suffering, a God in creating!\"\n\nThis wonderful miracle, my dear father, is one that has too many\nwitnesses to be denied. Not a day passes that we do not hear of some\nstill more extraordinary exhibition of his power than the preceding.\nEvery morning, when men meet in the market places, or in the corridors\nof the Temple, the first inquiry is, \"What new wonder has he performed?\nHave you heard of another miracle of this mighty Prophet?\" The priests\nalone are offended, and speak evil of him through envy.\n\nThey even have gone so far as to assert that he performs his miracles\nby magic, or by the aid of Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. \"If\nwe suffer him to take men's minds as he doth,\" said Caiaphas to Rabbi\nAmos yesterday, when he heard that Jesus had walked on the sea to join\nhis disciples in their ship, and stilled a tempest with a word, \"the\nworship in the Temple will be at an end, and the sacrifice will cease.\nHe draweth all men unto him.\"\n\nYou have asked, dear father, in your letter, \"Where is Elias, who is to\nprecede Messias, according to the prophet Malachi?\" This question Jesus\nhimself has answered, says John, when a rabbi put it to him. He replied\nthus:\n\n\"Elias has come already, and ye have done unto him whatsoever ye\nlisted.\"\n\n\"Dost thou speak of John the Baptist?\" asked those about him, when\nthey heard this.\n\n\"John came in the spirit and power of Elias, and therefore was he thus\ncalled by the prophet,\" was the answer of Jesus.\n\nI did not tell you that besides the six disciples whom I have named,\nhe has chosen six others, which twelve he keeps near his person as his\nmore favored followers, and whom he daily instructs in the doctrines\nhe came down from heaven to teach. Of the thousands who never weary of\ngoing from place to place in his train, he has also selected seventy\nmen, whom he has despatched by twos into every city and village of\nJudea, commanding them to proclaim the kingdom of God is at hand, and\nthat the time when men everywhere should repent and turn to God, has\ncome.\n\nIt is now commonly reported that he will be here at the Passover. I\nshall then behold him, and, like the wise men, I shall worship him with\nmingled awe and love. I will again write you, dear father, after I see\nand hear him. Till then, believe me your affectionate daughter,\n\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XVI.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nWhile I write, the city is agitated like a tumultuous sea. The loud\nmurmurs of the multitudes in the streets, and even in the distant\nmarket-place, reach my startled ears. A squadron of Roman cavalry has\njust thundered past towards the Temple, where the uproar is greatest;\nfor a rumor of an insurrection begun among the people has come to\nPilate the Procurator.\n\nI will relate to you the circumstance in detail.\n\nYesterday Mary's cousin, John, returned and came unexpectedly into\nthe hall of the fountain, in the rear of the house, where we were all\nseated in the cool of the vines. Uncle Amos was in the act of reading\nto us from the Prophet Jeremiah, a prophecy relating to the Messias\nthat is to come (nay, that is come, dear father), when John appeared.\nMary's blushes welcomed him and showed how dear he was to her. Uncle\nAmos embraced and kissed him and seated him by us, and called for a\nservant to bathe his feet, for he was dusty and travel-worn. From him\nwe learned that his beloved Master, Jesus, had reached Bethany, and\nwas reposing from his fatigues at the hospitable though humble house\nof Lazarus, Mary and Martha. When we heard this, we were all very\nglad; and Uncle Amos particularly seemed to experience the deepest\nsatisfaction.\n\n\"If he come into Jerusalem,\" said he warmly, \"he shall be my guest. Bid\nhim to my roof, O John, that my household may be blessed in having a\nprophet of God step across its threshold.\"\n\n\"I will tell my beloved Master thy wish, Rabbi Amos,\" answered John.\n\"Doubtless, as he has no home nor friends in the city, he will remain\nunder your roof.\"\n\n\"Say not no friends!\" I exclaimed. \"We are all his friends here, and\nfain would be his disciples.\"\n\n\"What! Rabbi Amos also?\" cried John, with a glance of pleasure and\nsurprise at the venerable priest of God.\n\n\"Yes, I am ready, after all that I have seen and heard, I am ready to\nconfess him a prophet sent from God.\"\n\n\"He is far more than a prophet, O Rabbi Amos,\" answered John. \"Never\nprophet did the works Jesus does. It seems that all power is at his\ncommand. If you witnessed what I witness daily, as he traverses Judea,\nyou would say that he was Jehovah descended to earth in human form.\"\n\n\"Nay, do not blaspheme, young man,\" said Rabbi Amos, with some severity\nof reproof.\n\nJohn bowed his head in reverence to the rebuke of the Rabbi, but\nnevertheless answered respectfully and firmly. \"Never man did like him.\nIf he be not God in the flesh, he is an angel in flesh invested with\ndivine power.\"\n\n\"If he be the Messiah,\" I said, \"he cannot be an angel, for are not the\nprophecies clear that the Messiah shall be 'a man of sorrows'? Is he\nnot to be 'the seed of the woman'? a man and not an angel?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" answered John, \"you remember well the prophecies. I firmly\nbelieve Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of God. Yet, what he is more\nthan man, what he is less than God, is incomprehensible to me and to my\nfellow-disciples. We wonder, love and adore! At one moment we feel like\nembracing him as a brother dearly beloved; at another, we are ready to\nfall at his feet and worship him. I have seen him weep at beholding the\nmiseries of the diseased wretches which were dragged into his presence,\nand then with a touch--with a word, heal them; and they would stand\nbefore him in the purity and beauty of health and strong manhood.\"\n\n\"And yet,\" said Nicodemus, a rich Pharisee, who entered as John was\nfirst speaking, and listened without interrupting, \"and yet, young man,\nI heard you say that Jesus, of whom you and all men relate such mighty\ndeeds, has remained at Bethany to recover from his fatigue. How can a\nman who holds all sickness in his power, be subject to mere weariness\nof body? I would say unto him, Physician, heal thyself!\"\n\nThis was spoken with a tone of incredulity by this learned ruler of the\nJews, and, stroking his snowy beard, he waited of John a reply.\n\n\"So far as I can learn the character of Jesus,\" replied John, \"his\nhealing power over diseases is not for his own good. He uses his\npower to work miracles for the benefit of others through love and\ncompassion. Being a man with this divine power dwelling in him for us,\nhe is subject to infirmities as a man; he hungers, thirsts, wearies,\nsuffers, as a man. I have seen him heal a nobleman's son by a word,\nand the next moment seat himself, supporting his aching head upon his\nhand, looking pale and languid, for his labors of love are vast, and he\nis often overcome by them. Once Simon Peter, seeing him ready to sink\nwith weariness, after healing all day, asked him and said, 'Master,\nthou givest strength to others; why suffer thyself, when all health and\nstrength are in thee as in a living well, to be weary?'\n\n\"'It is not my desire to escape human infirmities by any power my\nFather hath bestowed upon me for the good of men. Through suffering\nonly can I draw all men after me!' he replied.\"\n\nJohn said this so sadly, as if he were repeating the very tones in\nwhich Jesus had spoken it, that we all remained silent for a few\nmoments. I felt tears fill my eyes, and I was glad to see that the\nproud Pharisee, Nicodemus, looked moved. After a full minute's serious\npause, he said:\n\n\"This man is doubtless no common prophet. When he comes into the city,\nI shall be glad to hear from his own mouth his doctrines, and to\nwitness some potent miracle.\"\n\n\"Prophet he is, without doubt,\" answered Amos. \"It is not the question\nnow whether he be a prophet or not; for the hundreds he has healed are\nliving witnesses that he has the spirit and power of the old prophets,\nand is truly a prophet. The question that remains is, whether he be the\nMessiah or not.\"\n\nNicodemus slowly and negatively shook his head, and then answered:\n\n\"Messias cometh not out of Galilee.\"\n\nAt this moment a sudden wild, joyful cry from Mary thrilled our nerves,\nand looking towards the door, we saw her folded in the arms of a young\nman whom I had never seen before. My surprise had not time to form\nitself into any definite explanation of what I saw, when I beheld the\nyoung man, who was exceedingly handsome and the picture of health,\nafter kissing the clinging Mary upon her cheeks, leave her to throw\nhimself into the arms of Rabbi Amos, crying:\n\n\"My father, my dear father!\"\n\nMy uncle, who had stood amazed and wonderingly gazing on him, as if\nhe could not believe what his eyes beheld, now burst into profound\nexpressions of grateful joy, and as he clasped the young stranger\nto his heart, fell upon his neck and wept, with scarcely power to\narticulate the words:\n\n\"My son! My son! Lost, but found again! This is the Lord's doing and is\nmarvelous in our eyes!\"\n\nJohn also embraced the new-comer, and the ruler stood silent with\nwonder. While I was looking bewildered upon the scene, Mary ran and\nsaid to me, with tears of gladness shining in her dark, fine eyes:\n\n\"It is Benjamin, my lost brother, beloved Adina!\"\n\n\"I did not know you had a brother,\" I answered in surprise.\n\n\"We have long regarded him as dead,\" she replied with mingled emotions.\n\"Seven years ago he became lunatic, and fled to the tombs without the\ncity, where he has long dwelt with many others who were possessed\nwith devils. For years he has neither spoken to nor known us. But oh,\nnow--now behold him! It seems a vision! See how manly, noble, like\nhimself he is, with the same intelligent, smiling eyes.\"\n\nShe then flew to take him by the hand and lead him toward me, all eyes\nbeing fixed upon him, as if he had been a spirit.\n\nWhen he saw their wondering gaze, he said:\n\n\"It is I, both son and brother to those dearest to me. I am in my right\nmind and well.\"\n\n\"Who has effected this change, so extraordinary, oh, my son?\" inquired\nRabbi Amos, with trembling lips, and keeping his hand on Benjamin's\nshoulder, as if he feared he would vanish away.\n\n\"It was Jesus, the Prophet of the Highest!\" answered he, with solemn\ngratitude.\n\n\"Jesus!\" we all exclaimed in one voice.\n\n\"I could have said so,\" answered John, calmly. \"Rabbi Nicodemus, thou\nknowest this young man well. Thou hast known him in childhood, and\nbeheld him in the madness of his lunacy among the tombs. Dost thou\ndoubt now whether Jesus be the very Christ?\"\n\nNicodemus made no reply, but I saw from the expression of his face that\nhe believed.\n\n\"How was this done to thee, young man?\" he asked, with deep and visible\nemotion.\n\n\"I was wandering near Bethany this morning,\" answered the restored\none, with modesty, \"when I beheld a crowd which I madly followed.\nAs I drew near I beheld in their midst a man, whom I had no sooner\ncast my eyes upon than I felt seize me an ungovernable propensity to\ndestroy him. The same fury possessed seven others, my comrades in\nmadness, and together we rushed upon him, with great stones and knives\nin our hands. The crowd gave way and fell back aghast, and called him\nto save himself. But he moved not, but, left alone in a wide space,\nstood calmly awaiting us. We were within a few feet of him, and I was\nnearest, ready to strike him to the earth, when he quietly lifted one\nfinger and said, 'Peace!' We stood immovable, without power to stir a\nfoot, while our rage and hatred increased with our inability to harm\nhim. We howled and foamed at the mouth before him, for we then knew\nthat he was the Son of God, come to destroy us.\n\n\"'Come out of the men and depart quickly!' he said, in a tone of\ncommand as if to us, but really to the demons within us. At this word\nI fell at his feet in a dreadful convulsion, and my whole body writhed\nas if it had been wrestling with an invisible demon. Jesus then stooped\nand laid his hand upon my brow and said, 'Son, arise. Thou art made\nwhole!'\n\n\"At these words a black cloud seemed to be lifted from my mind. The\nglory of a new existence appeared to dawn upon my soul, while his voice\nmelted my heart within me. Bursting into tears, the first I have shed\nfor seven years, I fell at his feet and kissed and embraced them.\"\n\nWhen Benjamin had done speaking, we all gave glory to God, who had\ngiven him back to us, and who had sent so great a Prophet among men.\n\nI commenced this letter, dearest father, by an allusion to a great\ncommotion which is agitating the whole city, but as I have taken up\nso much of this letter in relating what passed yesterday in the hall\nof the fountain, I will leave the account of the tumult for my next\nletter, which I shall write this evening.\n\nMay the God of our fathers be with you, and bless you and the holy\npeople of the promise.\n\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XVII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nWhen, on the morning of the Passover, it was noised abroad that the\nProphet of Galilee was entering the city by the gate of Jericho, the\nwhole city was stirred, and from houses and shops poured forth crowds\nwhich turned their steps in that direction. Mary and I went upon the\nhouse-top, hoping to see something; but far and near was visible only\na sea of heads, from which a deep murmuring arose, like the ceaseless\nvoice of the ocean chafing upon a rocky shore. The top of the gate-way\nwas visible from the place where we stood, but it was black with the\npeople who had crowded upon it to look down. There was heard at length\nan immense shout, as of one voice, which was followed by a swaying and\nonward pressure of the crowds.\n\n\"The Prophet must have entered the gate,\" said my Cousin Mary,\nbreathlessly. \"How they do him honor! It is the reception of a king!\"\n\nWe were in hopes he would pass by our house, as we were on one of the\nchief thoroughfares, but were disappointed, as he ascended the hill of\nMoriah to the Temple. A part of the ascent to the house of the Lord\nis visible from our roof, and we had the satisfaction of seeing the\nProphet at a distance. We knew him only because he was in advance.\nThe nighest one to him, Mary said, was her Cousin John, though\nat that distance I could not have recognized him. The head of the\nmultitude disappeared beneath the arch of the Temple, and thousands\nupon thousands followed after; and in the rear rode the young Roman\ncenturion, whom I have before spoken of, at the head of four hundred\nhorse, to keep order in the vast mass. Mary could not recognize him,\nsaying it was too far to tell who he was; but I knew him, not only by\nhis air and bearing, but by the scarlet pennon that fluttered from his\niron lance, and which I had bestowed upon him, for he told me he had\nlost one his fair Roman sister, Tullia, had given him, and as he so\nmuch regretted its loss, I supplied its place by another, worked by my\nown hands.\n\n[Illustration: STREET IN JERUSALEM]\n\nThe multitude, as many as could gain admission, having entered the\ngreat gate of the Temple, for a few minutes there was a profound\nstillness. Mary said:\n\n\"He is worshiping or sacrificing now.\"\n\n\"Perhaps,\" I said, \"he is addressing the people, and they listen to his\nwords.\"\n\nWhile I was speaking there arose from the bosom of the Temple a loud,\nirregular, strange outcry of a thousand voices, pitched to high\nexcitement. The people without the gate responded by a universal shout,\nand then we beheld those nighest the walls retreat down the hillside\nin terrified confusion, while, to increase the tumult, the Roman horse\ncharged up the hill, seeking to penetrate the masses to reach the\ngate out of which the people poured like a living and tempest-tossed\nriver, before which the head of the cohort recoiled or was overwhelmed\nand down-trodden! I held my breath in dreadful suspense, not knowing\nthe cause of the fearful scene we beheld, nor to what it might lead.\nMary sank, almost insensible, by my side. A quarter of an hour had not\npassed when young Samuel Ben Azel, who had the day before come up from\nNain to the Passover with his mother, entered and explained to us the\ncause of the scene I had witnessed.\n\n\"The Prophet Jesus, having entered into the Temple, found all the\ncourts filled with merchants, changers of money, and sellers of cattle\nto the sacrificers. Portions of the sacred place were divided off by\nfences, in which hundreds of sheep and cattle were stalled. On his\nway to the inner Temple the Prophet found his path so obstructed by\nthe stalls and the tables of the brokers, that he had to go around\nthem, and often to turn back and take a less hedged-up avenue. At\nlength finding, upon the very lintel of the Court of the Priests,\na priest himself engaged at a table as a money-changer, and near\nhim a Levite keeping a stall for selling doves and sparrows to the\nworshipers, he stopped upon the step, and turning round, cast his eye,\nwhich now beamed with an awful majesty and power, over the scene of\nnoisy commerce and bartering. Every face was turned towards him in\nexpectation. The half-completed bargain was suspended, and buyer and\nseller directed their gaze, as by a sort of fascination, not unmingled\nwith a strange fear and awe, upon him. Those who had crowded about him\ndrew back farther and farther, slowly but irresistibly widening the\nspace between them and him, they knew not by what impulse, till he\nstood alone, save near him remained John, his disciple. The uproar of\nthe buying and selling suddenly subsided, and the loud lowing of the\ncattle and the bleating of the sheep stopped as if a supernatural awe\nhad seized even the brute creation at his presence, and only the soft\ncooing of doves stirred the vast, death-like stillness of the place, a\nmoment before a scene of oaths, cries, shouts, of running to and fro,\nbuying and selling, the ringing of money, and the buzz of ten thousand\nvoices! It was as if a hurricane, sweeping with deafening uproar of\nthe elements over the lashed ocean, had been suddenly arrested and\nfollowed by a great calm. The silence was dreadful! It stopped the very\nbeating of my heart. Every eye of the vast multitude seemed to fasten\nitself on the Prophet in expectation of some dread event. The step of\nthe Temple upon which he stood seemed to be a throne, and the people\nbefore him expecting judgment. Suddenly the silence was broken by a\nyoung man near me who gave a piercing shriek, and fell insensible upon\nthe marble floor. There was a general thrill of horror, yet the same\nawful stillness succeeded this startling interruption. That one intense\nshriek had spoken for us all. Suddenly the voice of the Prophet was\nheard, clear, authoritative, and ringing like the trumpet that shook\nSinai when the Law was given.\n\n\"'It is written, My Father's house shall be called a house of prayer;\nbut ye have made it a den of thieves!'\n\n\"He then picked up from the pavement at his feet a small cord, which\nsome one had thrown down, and doubling it in the form of a scourge, he\nadvanced. Before his presence fled the changers of money, priests and\nLevites, sellers of oxen, sellers of sheep, sellers of doves, leaving\ntheir property to its fate.\n\n\"'Take these things hence,' cried the Prophet; 'make not my Father's\nhouse a house of merchandise!'\n\n\"Such a scene of confusion and flight was never witnessed as now\nfollowed! In the moment of panic I was borne along with the current.\nMoney tables were overturned on all sides, but not the most avaricious\none present thought, at that moment, of stopping to gather any of\nthe gold and silver which the rushing thousands trampled beneath\ntheir feet. It was not the whip of small cords before which we fled,\nfor he touched no man therewith, but it was from the majesty of his\ncountenance. To the eyes of all the little whip seemed to blaze and\nflash above their heads, as if it were the fiery sword of a destroying\nangel. In a few moments the Priests' Court of the Temple was cleared of\nevery soul, as we fled towards the South gate. On looking back, I saw\nthat the Prophet pursued not, but stood alone, Master and Lord of the\nTemple. The whip was no longer in his hand, and his whole attitude and\nexpression of face seemed changed from their late impress to an air of\nthe profoundest compassion, as he looked after us, still flying from\nhis presence.\"\n\nMy uncle, Rabbi Amos, who, on his return from the Temple, corroborated\nwhat Samuel had stated, added that as Jesus stood alone, possessor of\nthe gold-strewn floors of the courts of the Temple, the High Priest\nadvanced towards him, and with awe, not unmixed with anger, demanded of\nhim by what authority he did these things.\n\nHis answer was, \"My Father's house must not be made a house of\nmerchandise.\"\n\n\"Art thou the Christ?\" asked the High Priest, still standing some\ndistance off from him.\n\n\"If I tell thee that I am, ye will not believe.\"\n\n\"What sign showest thou that thou art sent, and hast authority to do\nwhat thou doest here to-day within the Temple?\"\n\n\"Hast thou not had proof of my power from heaven?\" answered Jesus,\nstretching forth his hand towards the still terror-stricken multitude;\nand then laying it upon his breast, he added: \"Destroy this temple, and\nin three days I will raise it up! Be this to you, O priest, and to all\nJudea, the sign that I am sent by my Father who is in heaven. As he\nhath given me commandment, so I do!\"\n\nAt this there was a great murmuring, said Rabbi Amos, for many of the\npriests, with Annas also, had got boldness and drawn near to hear.\n\n\"He cannot be a just man,\" said Annas, \"nor doth he honor God, if he\nwould have us destroy the Temple.\"\n\n\"Yet if he be not sent of God, whence hath he this power over men?\"\nanswered another.\n\n\"He doeth this by Beelzebub, whose prophet he doubtless is,\" said\nAnnas, in a loud tone, \"for a true prophet would not seek the\ndestruction of God's holy house.\"\n\nThereupon there was a multitude of voices, some crying one thing, and\nsome another. Caiaphas at length obtained silence, and said to him with\nawe:\n\n\"Art thou that Christ of the Prophets?\"\n\n\"I am!\" calmly and firmly answered the Prophet; and, raising his eyes\nto heaven, he added impressively, \"I am come down from God.\"\n\nWhen, adds my uncle, Annas heard this, he lifted up his voice in an\nexclamation of horror, and cried out:\n\n\"Hear ye this blasphemer! Let us cast him forth from the Temple which\nhe pollutes!\"\n\nBut no man dared approach the Prophet.\n\n\"Bear witness,\" then said he, sorrowfully, rather than in anger, \"that\nI have come unto my own, and ye have received me not! This Temple of\nmy Father, from which you would drive me forth, shall no longer be\nthe dwelling place and altar of Jehovah. The day cometh when your\npriesthood shall be taken away and given to others, and among the\nGentiles shall arise my Father's name, on every hill and in every\nvalley of the earth, holy temples, wherein he shall delight to dwell;\nand men shall no longer need to worship God in Zion, but in all places\nshall prayer and praise be offered to the Most High. This Temple, which\nye have polluted, shall be overthrown, and ye shall be scattered among\nthe nations.\"\n\nThus speaking, the Prophet quitted the Temple, leaving the High Priest\nand priests and Levites standing gazing after him, without power to\nutter a word.\n\nSuch, my dear father, is the account given by Rabbi Amos of what passed\nin the Temple. That Jesus is the Christ is now beyond question, for he\nhas openly acknowledged it to the High Priest.\n\nAdieu, dearest father. The servants are bringing in boughs for the\nbooths, and I must close this letter, with prayers to our fathers' God\nfor your peace and welfare.\n\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XVIII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nYou say in your letter, which I received from the hands of the Roman\ncourier, that you have read with interest all my letters, and more\nespecially those which relate to Jesus of Galilee. You say that you are\nready to acknowledge him as a prophet sent from God. But you add, \"He\ncan have no claim to be the Christ, because he comes out of Galilee.\"\n\nTo this objection, dear father, Rabbi Amos desires me to say that he\nhas investigated the records of births kept in the Temple, and finds,\nas I have before named to you, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He\nafterwards removed with his parents to Egypt, and thence returning to\nJudea, settled in Galilee, where he was brought up. Of these facts\nin his history not only Rabbi Amos is satisfied, but Nicodemus also,\nwhose learning you will not gainsay; and the latter, very much to our\nsurprise, and my own delight, added yesterday, when we were talking\nover the subject at supper, \"There is a prophecy, O Rabbi Amos, which\nstrengthens this mighty Prophet's claim to be the Messias.\"\n\n\"What is it? Let me hear all that can strengthen!\" I asked earnestly;\nnot, dear father, that my confidence in him needs confirmation, but I\nwish others to believe.\n\n\"You will find it in the Prophet Hoseas,\" answered Nicodemus, \"and thus\nit readeth: 'I have called my son out of Egypt.'\"\n\nMy heart bounded with joy, dear father, at hearing this prophecy named;\nbut judge my emotion when Nicodemus, taking the roll of the Prophet\nIsaiah in his hand, read the words that follow, and applied them to\nJesus: \"Beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which sat\nin darkness have seen a great light!\" This changes the objection to\nhis coming from Galilee into additional proof of his claim to be the\nMessias.\n\nIn my last letter I informed you that Rabbi Amos had invited him\nto sojourn with us during the Passover. He graciously accepted the\ninvitation, and came hither yesterday, after he had quitted the Temple,\nfrom which he had with such commanding power driven forth the merchants\nand money-changers.\n\nHearing, while expecting him, the rumor flying along the streets, \"The\nProphet comes! The Prophet comes!\" uttered by hundreds of voices of\nmen and children, I hastened to the house-top. The whole way was a sea\nof heads. The multitude came rolling onward, like a mighty river; as I\nhave seen the dark Nile flow when pouring its freshening floods along\nits confined banks.\n\nMary stood by my side. We tried to single out the central person around\nwhom undulated the sea of heads; but all was so wildly confused with\nthe waving of palm branches that we could distinguish nothing clearly.\nWhile I was straining my gaze to make out the form of the Prophet,\nMary touched me, and bade me look in the opposite direction. As I did\nso I beheld \u00c6milius Tullius, the young Roman centurion, now Prefect of\nPilate's Legion, advancing at the head of two hundred horsemen at full\nspur, in order to meet and turn back the advancing column of people.\n\nAs he came opposite the house he looked up, and seeing us upon the\nparapet, he gracefully waved his gleaming sword, saluted us, and was\ndashing past, when Mary cried out:\n\n\"Noble sir, there is no insurrection, as some of the people have\ndoubtless told thee, but this vast crowd moving hitherwards is only an\nescort to the Prophet of Nazareth, who cometh to be my father's guest.\"\n\n\"I have orders from Pilate to arrest him, lady, as a disturber of the\npeace of the capital.\"\n\n\"Shall a prophet suffer because his mighty deeds draw crowds after his\nfootsteps, noble Roman? If thy troops advance there will be a collision\nwith the people. If thou wilt withdraw them a little, thou wilt see\nthat when the Prophet crosses my father's threshold, they will go away\nin peace.\"\n\nThe prefect said nothing, but seemed to look at me for some words;\nwhich seeing, I earnestly entreated him to do the Prophet no violence.\n\n\"For thy wishes' sake, lady, I will here halt my troop, especially as I\nsee that the people are unarmed.\"\n\nThe centurion then gave orders to his horsemen to draw up in line\nopposite the house. The multitude now came near, but many of those in\nadvance, seeing the Roman horse, stopped or fell into the rear, so\nthat I beheld Jesus appear in front, walking at an even, calm pace,\nJohn at his side; also Rabbi Amos was with him. As he came nigher, the\npeople, for fear of the long Roman spears, kept back, and he advanced\nalmost alone. I saw John point out to him our house. The Prophet\nraised his face and gazed upon it an instant. I saw his features\nfull. His countenance was not that of a young man, but of a person\npast the middle age of life, though he is but thirty. His hair was\nmingled with gray, and in his finely shaped, oval face were carved,\nevidently by care and sorrow, deep lines. His flowing beard fell upon\nhis breast. His eyes appeared to be fixed upon us both for an instant\nwith benignity and peace. Deep sadness, gentle, not stern, seemed to be\nthe characteristic expression of his noble and princely visage. There\nwas an air of manly dignity in his carriage and mien, and as he walked\namid his followers he was truly kingly, yet simplicity and humility\nqualified this native majesty of port. He seemed to draw out both the\nawe and love of those who saw him--to command equally our homage and\nsympathy.\n\nPassing the troop of horse, John and Rabbi Amos conducted Jesus to our\ndoor; but before they reached it there was a loud cry from several\nharsh voices to the Roman to arrest him. On looking from whence these\nshouts came, I saw that they proceeded from several of the priests,\nheaded by Annas, who were pressing forward through the crowd, crying\nmenacingly:\n\n\"We call upon you, O prefect, to arrest this man! Shame on thee, Rabbi\nAmos! Hast thou also believed in the impostor? We charge this Galilean,\nO Roman, with having made sedition. He has taken possession of the\nTemple, and unless you see to it he will have the citadel out of your\nhands. If you arrest him not, we will not answer for the consequences\nthat may befall the city and the people.\"\n\n\"I see nothing to fear from this man, O ye Jews,\" answered \u00c6milius. \"He\nis unarmed and without troops. Stand back; keep ye to your Temple! It\nis from your outcries comes all the confusion! Back to your altars! If\ncommotions arise in the city, Pilate will make you accountable. All the\nrest of the people are peaceable save yourselves.\"\n\n\"We will take our complaint before the Procurator!\" cried Annas, who\nwas the chief speaker; and, followed by a large company of angry\npriests and Levites, with staves in their hands, he took his way\ntowards the palace of the Roman Governor.\n\nI looked my gratitude to \u00c6milius for so fearlessly taking part with the\nProphet.\n\nThe multitude now began to retire as the Roman horse slowly moved up\nthe street. Jesus was received into the house by Mary, and taken into\nthe inner hall, where, water being brought, Rabbi Amos himself removed\nthe sandals of the Prophet and reverently washed his feet, while Mary,\nto do him all honor, dried them with a rich veil, which she had just\nworked in anticipation of her coming bridal with her Cousin John. It\nwas at this moment I entered the hall.\n\nThere were in the room not only Amos, and John, and Mary, but the\nPriest Elias, cousin to Caiaphas, who, desirous of hearing from the\nlips of the Prophet his sublime teachings, had come in with him. There\nwere also present five men whom I never saw before, but who, John said,\nwere his disciples. I, however, had no eye or ear for any one but\nJesus. I saw that he seemed very weary and pale, and for the first time\nI noticed he seemed to suffer, as from time to time he raised his hand\nto his temples. Desirous of serving so holy a person, I hastened to\nprepare a restorative which, bringing it into the hall, I was about to\ngive to him, when the Priest Elias put me rudely back and said, \"Nay,\nmaiden, let us witness a miracle!\" He then turned to the Prophet and\nsaid, \"Master, we have heard much of thy power to do miracles, but have\nseen none by thee. If thou wilt presently show me a miracle, I will\nbelieve, I and all my house. Thou hast a pain in thy forehead; heal it\nwith a touch, and I will acknowledge thee the Christ, the Son of the\nBlessed!\"\n\nJesus turned his eyes upon him and said, \"Elias, thou readest the\nProphets, and shouldest know whether he who speaketh unto thee be the\nChrist or no. Search the Scriptures, that thou mayest know that the\ntime of his visitation is come, and that I am he. I do no miracles to\nrelieve my own suffering. I came into this world to suffer. Isaiah\nwrote of me as a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Blessed are\nthey who, not seeing, shall believe!\"\n\n\"But, Master,\" said the aged Levite, Asher, \"we know whence thou\nart--even from Galilee. But when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence\nhe is.\"\n\n\"It is true, O man of Israel, ye both know me and whence I am. Yet ye\nknow not him who sent me. Ye do not understand the Scriptures or ye\nwould indeed know me, whence I am, and who hath sent me. But ye know\nneither me nor him that sent me, for I am come out from God. If ye had\nknown him, ye would know me also. The time cometh when ye shall know\nwhence I am and believe in me; but now your hearts are darkened through\nignorance and unbelieving.\"\n\nWhen he had thus spoken with great dignity and power, there were many\npresent who were offended, and some voices murmured against him. Then\nRabbi Amos led him forth to the apartment he had prepared for him.\n\nIn going to it the Prophet had to cross the court, and as I was\nwatching his retiring footsteps, I saw four men, who had climbed to\nthe house-top from the side street, the doors being closed, let down a\nfifth in a blanket at the very feet of Jesus. It was a man afflicted\nwith the palsy, and their own father. Jesus, seeing their filial love,\nstopped and said kindly:\n\n\"Young men, what would ye have me to do?\"\n\n\"Heal our aged father, holy Rabbi.\"\n\n\"Believe ye that I can do this?\" he asked, fixing his gaze earnestly on\nthem.\n\n\"Yes, Lord, we believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living\nGod! All things are possible unto thee!\"\n\nJesus looked benignantly upon them, and then taking the venerable man\nby the hand, he said to him in a loud voice, so that all who were\nlooking on heard him:\n\n\"Aged father, I say unto thee, arise and walk!\"\n\nThe palsied man instantly rose to his feet, whole and strong, and after\ncasting a glance around upon himself, he threw himself at the Prophet's\nfeet and bathed them in tears. The four sons followed their father's\nexample, while all the people who witnessed the miracle shouted, \"Glory\nto God, who hath given such power unto men!\"\n\nSuch, my dear father, are the increasing testimonies Jesus bears, by\nmiracles as well as by words, to his being Messias.\n\nThe God of our fathers keep you in health.\n\n                                             Your loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XIX.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nThe visit of the Prophet Jesus to the city has produced results of\nthe most amazing character. The priesthood is divided. Caiaphas has\npublicly recognized him as a prophet, while Annas has publicly declared\nthat he is an impostor; and thus two parties are formed in the city,\nheaded by the two priests, and most men have taken sides with one or\nthe other. But the majority of the common people are in favor of Jesus,\nbelieving him to be the Christ. The Pharisees most oppose him, because\nhe boldly reproves their sins and hypocrisies.\n\nEven Nicodemus, who at first was inclined to accept Jesus as a prophet,\nfinding the Pharisees against him, and being unwilling to lose his\npopularity with them, kept away from the house where Jesus was by\nday; but his curiosity to learn more of him led him to visit the holy\nProphet secretly by night. This he did twice, coming alone in the\ndarkness, and being let in by his friend Rabbi Amos. What the results\nof these interviews was I can only tell you from Mary's account. She\noverheard their conversation, her window opening upon the corridor,\nwhere Jesus was seated after supper, alone in the moonlight, for full\nan hour, gazing meditatively heavenward. His pale and chiseled features\nin the white moonlight seemed radiant as marble, when Rabbi Amos came\nand announced the ruler, Nicodemus, as desirous of speaking with him.\n\n\"Bid him come in and see me, if he has aught to say to me,\" answered\nthe Prophet, turning towards him.\n\n\"Nicodemus,\" added my Cousin Mary, \"then came to the corridor,\nwrapped carefully in his mantle, and, looking about to see if he was\nunobserved, he dropped it from his face, and, bowing reverently, said\nto the Prophet:\n\n\"'Pardon me, O Rabbi, that I come to thee by night, but by day thy time\nis taken up with healing and teaching. I am glad to find thee alone,\ngreat Prophet, for I would ask thee many things.'\n\n\"'Speak, Nicodemus, and I will listen to thy words,' answered the\nProphet.\n\n\"'Rabbi,' said the ruler of the Pharisees, 'I know thou art a teacher\ncome from God, for no man can do these things that thou doest except\nGod be with him. That thou art a mighty prophet I believe, as do all\nmen; but art thou Messias? Tell us plainly. We read that Messias is to\nbe a king who will rule the whole earth!'\n\n\"'My kingdom, O ruler of the Pharisees, is not of this world. I am\nindeed a king, but of a spiritual kingdom. My kingdom, unlike earthly\nkingdoms, has no end, and those who enter it must be born again. If\nnot, they cannot see or desire this kingdom.'\n\n\"'Born again!' answered Nicodemus, with surprise: 'how can a man be\nborn a second time? O Rabbi, thou speakest in parables!'\n\n\"'Verily, verily, I say unto thee,' answered the Prophet, 'except a man\nbe born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter my kingdom. He that\nis born again is born a spiritual man and of my kingdom. Marvel not,\nthen, that I say unto thee, ye must be born again.'\n\n\"When Nicodemus left him, Rabbi Amos said, 'Is it indeed true, O\nMaster, that thou art to establish a kingdom?'\n\n\"'Yes, Rabbi Amos, a kingdom in which dwelleth righteousness,' answered\nthe Prophet. 'Thou shalt yet behold me on my throne, O Amos, raised\nabove the earth, and drawing all men unto me.'\n\n\"'Wilt thou have thy throne in the clouds of heaven, O Master, that\nthou shalt be raised above the earth upon it?' asked Rabbi Amos.\n\n\"'My throne shall be set on Calvary, and the ends of the earth shall\nlook unto me and acknowledge my empire. Thou knowest not these things\nnow, but hereafter thou shalt remember that I told thee of them.'\"\n\nJesus then rose and, bidding his host good-night, retired to the\napartment which was assigned him, and Mary remained wondering on his\nsayings.\n\nThus, dear father, it is made certain from his own words that Jesus\nis the Christ and that he is to establish a kingdom. But why his\nthrone shall be on Calvary instead of Mount Zion, Rabbi Amos wonders\ngreatly, for Calvary is a place of skulls and of public executions,\nand is covered with Roman crosses, where every week some malefactor is\ncrucified for his crimes.\n\nThis morning, as Jesus was going forth from the house to depart into\nthe country, a man lame from his youth, seated upon the threshold,\ncaught him by the robe, saying, \"Master, heal me!\"\n\n\"Son, thy sins be forgiven thee!\" answered Jesus, and then passed on;\nbut the scribes and Pharisees who stood about cried, \"This man, be he\nprophet or no, blasphemeth, for God alone can forgive sins!\"\n\nJesus stopped and, turning to them, said:\n\n\"Which is easier, to say to this man, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee?' or\nto say, 'Rise and walk'? That ye may know that the Son of God hath\npower on earth to forgive sins--behold!\"\n\nThen in a loud voice the Prophet said to the lame man, \"Arise, take up\nthy bed, and go to thine house!\"\n\nImmediately the man rose to his feet, leaping and praising God, and\ntaking up the mattress upon which they had brought him to the door, he\nran swiftly away to show himself to his kinsfolk, while all the people\nshouted and praised God.\n\nThus did Jesus publicly show men that he could forgive sins, if he\ncould heal, as the power to do either came equally from God. Does not\nthis power prove that he is the Son of God?\n\nYou should have seen him, dear father, as he left our house to go away\ninto Galilee! The street was lined with all the afflicted of Jerusalem,\nand as he moved on between the rows of wretched sufferers, whose hollow\neyes and shrivelled arms were turned imploringly towards him, he healed\nby words addressed to them, as he moved on, so that where he found\ndisease before him, stretched on beds, he left behind him health and\nempty couches. We all wept at his departure and followed him to the\nDamascus Gate. Here there was assembled a large company of Levites and\npriests, among whom were mingled some of the most desperate characters\nin Jerusalem. Knowledge of this fact reached Rabbi Amos, who at once\nsent a message to \u00c6milius, our Roman friend, informing him that he\napprehended that there would be an attempt made to assassinate Jesus at\nthe going out of the gate, and asking his aid.\n\n\u00c6milius placed himself at the head of fifty horse, and reaching the\ngate, pressed the crowd back, and took possession of it. When Jesus\nhad passed through the armed guard beneath the arch, the young Roman\ncourteously offered him an escort to the next village.\n\n\u00c6milius, who informed me of these things, conducted him as far as\nEphraim, and then was about to leave him to return to the city, when\nfour lepers came from the cemetery of the tombs, near the village, and\ncrying out afar off, said:\n\n\"Thou blessed Christ, have mercy on us!\"\n\nJesus stopped and called to the lepers to approach. As they obeyed, the\nwhole company of people, as well as the Roman soldiers, drew back to a\ndistance, in horror at the sight of these dead-living men. They came\ntimidly within twenty paces of Jesus and stood still tremblingly.\n\n\"Fear not,\" said he, \"I will make you whole!\"\n\nHe then advanced towards them, and laying his hand upon each of them,\nthey all, at the touch, were instantly changed to well men, with the\nbuoyant form, clear eye, and rich bloom of health.\n\nWhen \u00c6milius saw this miracle, he dismounted from his horse, and\nfalling at Jesus' feet, worshiped him.\n\nNow, my dear father, I have thus far faithfully written all that I have\nheard and witnessed respecting Jesus, as you desire. You must see that\nhe is more than a prophet, and must be the very Christ, the Son of the\nBlessed. Withhold, oh, withhold not your belief longer!\n\n                           Your affectionate and loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XX.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nWe are now at the humble abode of Sarah, at Nain, whither I have come\nto breathe the fresh mountain air for a time. Her cottage stands in a\ngarden, from which is a sublime view of Tabor, in all the majesty of\nhis mountain grandeur. One day while I was in the garden walking, two\nmen, dusty and travel-worn, stopped at the half-open gate, and saluting\nus, said:\n\n\"Peace be to this house, maiden, and all who dwell therein.\"\n\n\"Enter,\" said the widow, overhearing them, \"enter and ye shall have\nwater for your feet and bread for your hunger.\"\n\nThe two men then entered and seated themselves, and having been\nrefreshed by the poor but hospitable widow, one of them rose and said:\n\n\"'This day is salvation come to this house. We are ambassadors of Jesus\nof Nazareth, and go from city to city, proclaiming the day of the Lord\nat hand, for Messiah is come!'\"\n\n\"Will he, then, come to Nain?\" asked the widow with emotion. \"I should\nbe willing to die so that I could lay my eyes once upon so great and\nholy a man!\"\n\n\"Yes, he will come hither,\" answered the men, \"and when we shall report\nto him your hospitality to us, he will visit your house, for he never\nforgets a cup of water given to one of his disciples.\"\n\nThe men then departed, again calling the peace of God upon our abode.\nThey had not been gone many minutes before we heard a great commotion\nin the market-place near by. Upon going to the house-top, we beheld\nthese two men standing upon an elevation, and preaching the kingdom of\nChrist at hand. Upon this, some cried out against Jesus, and others\nthrew stones at the two men, and when we reached the house-top, we saw\none of them remove his sandals and shake the dust from them, saying in\na loud voice:\n\n\"As ye reject the words of life, your sins remain upon you, as I return\nto you the dust of your city.\"\n\nThey then departed, followed by Levites, who fairly drove them from the\ntown.\n\nWhile we were grieving at this enmity against a Prophet sent from\nGod, whose life is a series of good deeds, there entered hastily a\nfair young maid whose name was Ruth. She held an open letter in her\nhand, and her beautiful face glowed rosily with some secret joy, which\ncontrasted strangely with the present sadness of our own. We knew Ruth\nwell, and loved her as if she had been a sister. She was an orphan, and\ndwelt with her uncle, Elihaz, the Levite, a man of influence in the\ntown. She was artless, unsuspecting, and very interesting in all her\nways.\n\n\"What good news, dear Ruth?\" asked Mary, smiling in response to her\nbright smiles. \"A letter from whom?\"\n\n\"For Sarah,\" answered the pretty maid, blushing so timidly and\nconsciously that we half suspected the truth.\n\n\"But that is not telling us from whom,\" persevered Mary, with a little\nplayfulness.\n\n\"You can guess,\" she answered, glancing over her white shoulder, as\nshe bounded away from us into the house.\n\nWe were soon after her, and heard her as she cried on putting the\nletter into the dear widow's hand:\n\n\"From Samuel!\"\n\n\"God be blessed!\" cried the widow. \"My son liveth and is well!\"\n\n\"Read, dear Sarah!\" cried the maiden. \"He was at Alexandria when he\nwrote this, and will soon be at home. Oh, happy, happy day!\" added the\noverjoyed girl, quite forgetful of our presence.\n\n\"Nay,\" said the widow, \"my eyes are filled with tears of gladness; I\ncannot see to read. Do thou read it aloud. Let Adina and Mary also know\nwhat he writeth.\"\n\nRuth then cast a bright look upon us, and read aloud the letter from\nover the sea, which told that the writer would return in the first ship\nbound to Sidon, or Cesarea, when he hoped to behold her and his mother\nface to face, and to receive as his bride the maiden he had so long\nloved and cherished in his heart.\n\nAt length, as the day drew near for me to leave, we were all filled\nwith delightful surprise at the appearance of the long-absent son and\nlover in the midst of our happy circle.\n\nMary and I had once seen him, and we were now impressed with his manly\nand sun-browned beauty, his bold air, and frank, ingenuous manner. We\ncould not but agree that the pretty Ruth had shown fine taste. But\nalas! my dear father, our joy was short-lived! Little did we anticipate\nhow speedily our rejoicing was to end in mourning! The very night of\nhis return he was seized with a malignant fever, which he had brought\nfrom Africa with him, and we were all overwhelmed with grief.\n\nIt would be impossible to paint the anguish of the mother, the\nheart-rending distress of his betrothed.\n\nUnconscious of their presence, he raved wildly, and sometimes fancied\nhimself suffering thirst on the burning sands of Africa, and at others\nbattling with barbarians for his life. All that physicians could do was\nof no avail. This morning, the third day after his return, he expired,\namid the most distressing agonies.\n\nAlas! instead of a bridal, behold a funeral! Already the bearers are\nat the door, and in a few minutes he will be borne forth upon the\ndead-bier to the burial-place without the city.\n\n\"Oh!\" sighs Mary near me as I write, \"Oh, that Jesus, the mighty\nProphet, had been here! He could have healed him!\"\n\nJohn has sent to her a message, saying that Jesus is traveling this\nway, on his mission of healing and teaching, and may be here this\nevening. But what will it avail, dear father? Even Jesus may not return\nthe dead to life! Oh, if he could have been here yesterday, his power\nover disease would have enabled him to save this precious life!\n\nI hear the heavy tread of the dead-bearers in the court below. The\nshrieks and wails of the mourning-women thrill my soul with awe. But\nabove all pierces the wild cry of anguish of the bereaved mother!\nRuth's voice is hushed. She has been for the last hour inanimate as\nmarble. Only by her pulse can it be said she lives! Poor maiden! The\nblow is too terrible for her to bear.\n\nMy Cousin Mary has at this moment received a small roll of parchment\nwhich, from the flush on her cheek, I know to be from her betrothed.\nShe smiles sadly, and with tears in her eyes hands it to me.\n\nI have read it, dear father. It is as follows:\n\n                                                 \"Gadara, beyond Judea.\n\n  \"The bearer, beloved, is one of the disciples of Jesus. His name is\n  Bartimeus. He was blind and poor, and subsisted by begging; and, as\n  you see, his sight is restored, and he insists now on going from\n  town to town where he has been known as a blind man to proclaim what\n  Jesus has done for him. This letter cometh beseeching thee, maiden,\n  that as we love one another unfeignedly, so may we soon be united in\n  that holy union which God hath blessed and commanded. But, having\n  much to say hereupon, I will not commit it to paper and ink; but by\n  to-morrow, or the day after, I trust to come to you, and speak with\n  you, dearly beloved, face to face, upon those things which now come\n  to my lips. Farewell, lady. Peace be with you, and all in your house.\n  Greet thy friends in my name, letting them know that we shall shortly\n  be with you.\"\n\n  \"Oh, that the mighty Prophet had come one day sooner!\" cried Mary.\n  \"What woe and anguish would have been spared poor Ruth and his\n  mother! But the will of Jehovah be done!\"\n\nWe hear now, dear father, the voice of the governor of the funeral,\nbidding us come down to bury the dead.\n\nFarewell, my father. I know you will shed a tear to the memory of the\nnoble youth whose death has this day filled all Nain with mourning. As\nI look from the lattice, I see the concourse of people to be immense,\nfilling all the street. Now, may the God of our father Abraham preserve\nand keep you, and suffer us once more to meet face to face in joy and\npeace.\n\n                              Your dutiful and sorrowful daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXI.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nI seize my pen, which I laid down an hour ago in order to follow to\nhis burial the son of our hostess, to recount to you one of the most\nextraordinary things which ever happened. I fear my trembling fingers\nwill scarcely express legibly what I have to tell you.\n\nWhen the burial train of Samuel had formed to go to the grave, the\ndeep grief of poor Ruth overcame her wholly and I led her to her room,\nwhere she sank insensible upon her couch. I could not leave her in her\nsituation, and the procession went forth from the house without me.\n\nAs the funeral train passed the lattice, it seemed endless, but at\nlength it passed by, and I was left alone with the motionless Ruth. As\nI gazed on the marble countenance of the bereaved maiden, I could not\nbut pray that she might never recover from her swoon, to revive to the\nbitter realization of her loss.\n\nSuddenly I heard a great shout. I started and hastened to the lattice.\nIt was repeated louder and with a glad tone. It seemed to come from\nbeyond the city walls, and from a hundred voices raised in unison. I\nknew that the house-top overlooked the walls, and seeing Ruth moved\nnot, I ascended rapidly to the parapet, the shouts and glad cries still\nincreasing as I went up. Upon reaching the flat roof and stepping on\nthe parapet, I saw coming along the street towards the house, with the\nspeed of the antelope, Elec, our Gibeonite slave. He was waving his\nhands wildly, and crying out something which I could not distinctly\nhear. Behind him I saw two youths running also, appearing to be the\nbearers of some great tidings.\n\nI knew something wonderful must have occurred, but could not divine\nwhat it could be. On looking towards the gate, from which direction\nthe shouts at intervals continued to approach, I discovered on the\nhillside of the cemetery many people crowded together, and evidently\nsurrounding some person in their midst, for the whole order of the\nprocession was broken up. The bier I could not discern, nor could I\ncomprehend how the solemnity of the march of the funeral train was\nsuddenly changed to a confused multitude, rending the sky with loud\nacclamations. The whole body of people was pressing back towards the\ncity. The persons whom I had first seen running along the street, now\nmade themselves audible as they drew nigher.\n\n\"He is alive! He is alive!\" shouted Elec.\n\n\"He has risen from the dead!\" cried the young man next behind him.\n\n\"He lives, and is walking back to the city!\" called the third.\n\n\"Who--who is alive?\" I eagerly demanded of Elec, as he passed beneath\nthe parapet. \"What is this shouting, O Elec?\"\n\nHe looked up to me with a face expressive of the keenest delight, mixed\nwith awe, and said:\n\n\"Young Rabbi Samuel is come to life! He is no longer dead! You will\nsoon see him, for they are escorting him back to the city, and\neverybody is mad with joy. Where is Ruth, the maiden? I am come to tell\nher the glorious news.\"\n\nWith emotion that I cannot describe, hardly believing what I heard,\nI hastened to Ruth, in order to prevent the effects of too sudden\njoy. Upon reaching the apartment, I found that the voice of Elec, who\nhad shouted the news of which he was the bearer into her ears, had\naroused her from her stupor of grief. She was looking at him wildly and\nincomprehensively. I ran to her, and folding her in my arms, said:\n\n\"Dear Ruth, there is news--good news! It must be true! Hear the shouts\nof gladness in all the town!\"\n\n\"Lives!\" she repeated, shaking her head. \"No--no--no! Yes, there!\" she\nsaid, raising her beautiful, glittering eyes to heaven and pointing\nupward.\n\n\"But on earth also!\" cried Elec, with positiveness. \"I saw him sit up,\nand heard him speak, as well as ever he was!\"\n\n\"How was it? Let me know all!\" I cried.\n\n\"How? Who could have done such a miracle but the mighty Prophet we saw\nat Jerusalem!\" he answered.\n\n\"Jesus?\" I exclaimed, with joy.\n\n\"Who else could it be. Yes, he met the bier just outside the-- But here\nthey come!\"\n\nElec was interrupted in his narrative by the increased noise of voices\nin the streets and the tramp of hundreds of feet. The next moment the\nroom was filled with a crowd of the most excited persons, some weeping,\nsome laughing, as if beside themselves. In their midst I beheld Samuel\nwalking, alive and well! his mother clinging to him, like a vine upon\nan oak.\n\n\"Where is Ruth?\" he cried. \"Oh, where is she! Let me make her happy\nwith my presence!\"\n\nI gazed upon him with awe, as if I had seen a spirit.\n\nRuth no sooner heard his voice than she uttered a shriek of joy. \"He\nlives--he indeed lives!\" and springing forward, she was saved from\nfalling to the ground by being clasped to his manly breast.\n\n\"Let us kneel and thank God!\" he said.\n\nFor a few minutes the scene was solemn and touching beyond any\nspectacle ever exhibited on earth.\n\nWhen he had performed this first sacred duty, he rose to his feet and\nreceived all our embraces. Hundreds came in to see his face, and every\ntongue was eloquent in praise of the power of Jesus.\n\n\"And where is the holy Prophet?\" I asked of Mary. \"Shall he be\nforgotten amid all our joy!\"\n\n\"We thanked him there with all our hearts, and bathed his hands with\ntears of gratitude,\" she answered, \"but when they would have brought\nhim into the city in triumph he conveyed himself away in the confusion,\nand no one could see aught of him. But John, who was with him, told me\nhe would come into the city after quiet was restored, by and by, and he\nwould bring him to our abode.\"\n\n\"Oh, I shall then behold him and thank him also!\" I cried. \"Make known\nto me, Mary, the particulars of this wonderful miracle.\"\n\n\"As we went weeping forth,\" said Mary, \"slowly following the bier, and\nhad passed the gate, we saw coming along the path through the valley\nleading to Tabor, a party of twelve or thirteen men on foot. They were\nfollowed by a crowd of men, women and children from the country, and\nwere so journeying that they would meet us at the crossing of the stone\nbridge. Hearing some one say aloud, 'It is the Prophet of Nazareth,\nwith his disciples,' I looked earnestly forward, and joyfully\nrecognized Jesus at their head, with John walking by his side.\n\n\"'Oh, that Jesus had been in Nain when thy son was sick!' I said to the\nwidow, pointing him out to her, as he and his company stopped at the\nentrance to the bridge. Recollecting how he might have prevented her\nson's dying had he been in Nain, the poor lady could no longer command\nher grief, and covering her face with her veil, she wept so violently\nthat all eyes were piteously fastened upon her. I observed that the\nholy Prophet's gaze rested upon her with compassion, and as she came\nopposite where he stood, he advanced towards us and said, in a voice of\nthrilling sympathy:\n\n\"'Weep not, mother. Thy son shall live again!'\n\n\"'I know it, O Rabboni, at the last day,' she answered. 'Oh, if thou\nhadst been here my son need not have died! Thy word would have healed\nhim! But now he is dead! dead! dead!'\n\n\"'Woman, weep not! I will restore thy son!'\n\n\"'What saith he?' cried some Pharisees who were in the funeral. 'That\nhe will raise a dead man? This is going too far. God only can raise the\ndead.' And they smiled and scoffed.\n\n\"But Jesus laid his hand upon the pall over the body, and said to those\nwho bore the corpse:\n\n\"'Rest the bier upon the ground.'\n\n\"They instantly stood still and obeyed him. He then advanced amid a\nhushed silence, and uncovering the marble visage, touched the hand of\nthe dead young man, and said, in a loud and commanding voice:\n\n\"'Young man, I say unto thee, Arise!'\n\n\"There was a moment's painful stillness through the vast multitude.\nEvery eye was fixed upon the bier. The voice was heard by the spirit\nof the dead and it came back to his body. There was at first visible\na living, trembling emotion of the hitherto motionless corpse! Color\nflushed the livid cheek; the eyelids opened and he fixed his eyes on\nJesus; then he raised his hand and his lips moved! The next moment he\nsat up on the bier, and spake aloud in his natural voice, saying:\n\n\"'Lo, here I am!'\n\n\"Jesus then took him by the hand, and assisting him to alight upon his\nfeet from the bier, led him to his mother, and delivered him to her,\nsaying:\n\n\"'Woman, behold thy son!'\n\n\"Upon seeing this miracle the people shouted with joy and wonder, 'God\nhas indeed visited his people Israel! A great Prophet is risen up among\nus! The Messias is come, and Jesus is the very Christ, with the keys of\ndeath and hell!'\n\n\"I sought out Jesus to cast myself at his feet, but he shrunk from the\nhomage and gratitude which his mercy to us had awakened. Thus humility\nis an element of all power.\"\n\nSuch, my dear father, is the narrative of the restoration to life again\nof Samuel, the son of Sarah, widow of Nain. This miracle has caused\nhundreds this day to confess his name, and to believe in Jesus as the\nanointed Shiloh of Israel.\n\nMany of the doctors have been to see Samuel through the day, and have\nput profound questions to him touching the state of the soul out of the\nbody, but he could give them no satisfaction, all appearing to him like\nshining fragments of a gorgeous vision.\n\nMary is to-morrow to become the bride of John, and Jesus will be\npresent at the wedding, for while he severely rebukes sin and folly, he\nsanctifies by his presence the holy rite of marriage.\n\nOn the eve of the eighth day from this I shall depart hence, with John\nand Mary, for Jerusalem, whence I will write you again.\n\n                                             Your loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXII.\n\n\nOnce more, my dear father, I address a letter to you from this holy\ncity. This morning when I awoke at the sound of the silver trumpets\nof the priests, ringing melodiously from the top of Mount Moriah, I\nexperienced anew that profound devotion which the children of Abraham\nmust always feel in the city of God and in the presence of his very\nTemple.\n\nIt was a joyous morning to me, dear father, for \u00c6milius, the noble\nRoman Prefect, was this day voluntarily to present himself at the\nTemple to be made a proselyte to the holy faith of Israel.\n\nThe morning was, therefore, additionally lovely to me. I thought I had\nnever seen the olive groves on the hillside beyond the king's gardens\nso green, nor the harvest so yellow, as they undulated in the soft\nbreeze of the opening morn. The lofty palms everywhere appeared to\nbend and wave their verdant fans with joyous motion. The birds in the\npalace gardens sang sweeter and louder, and Jerusalem itself seemed\nmore beautiful than ever.\n\nWhile I was gazing upon the scene and adoring God, and thanking him\nfor the conversion of \u00c6milius, Rabbi Amos came and said that he would\ntake us to the Temple. We were soon on our way, climbing the paved\npathway to Moriah. Oh, how sublimely towered the divine Temple above\nour heads, seemingly lost in the blue of the far heaven! The great\ngates opening north and south, to the east and west, were thronged\nwith the multitude pressing through; while from the galleries above\neach gate pealed forth continually the clear-voiced trumpets of God in\nceaseless reverberation. My uncle pointed out to me the massive doors,\nall overlaid with sheets of beaten gold, and the floor of green marble\non which we trod. He bade me notice the costly entablature of colored\nstones, exquisitely worked with the Grecian's chisel, and especially\nthe roof of fretted silver, set with precious stones, the onyx, beryl,\nsapphire, carbuncle and jasper. I was dazzled by the magnificence,\nand awed by the vast extent of the space of splendor surrounding me,\nwhile ten thousands of people were to be seen moving towards the\naltar of sacrifice. From that superb court I was led into a hall\nnearly a hundred cubits in length, its ceiling of pure gold sustained\nby a thousand and one columns of porphyry and white marble, ranged\nalternately.\n\nI was not permitted to approach the sacred chamber, where stood the\nfour thousand vessels of gold of Ophir, used in the sacrifices on great\ndays; and this being a high day, I saw no less than six hundred priests\nstanding about the altar, each with a golden censer in his hand. Beyond\nis the holy ark of the covenant, over which the cherubim hover, their\nwings meeting, and between them is the mercy-seat. As this was the Holy\nof Holies I was not permitted to see it; but its position was pointed\nout to me within the veil, which conceals from all eyes but that of the\nHigh Priest once a year the place of God's throne on the earth, alas\nnow left vacant since the glory of the Shechinah departed from the Holy\nof Holies!\n\nThe air of the vast Temple was delicious with the fragrance of burning\nfrankincense. As the victims bled and the smoke ascended, the people\nfell on their faces and worshiped God. After a few moments' silence, a\nstartling trumpet note thrilled every soul in the countless multitude.\nIt was followed by a peal of music that shook the air, from a choir\nof two thousand singers, male and female, of the sons and daughters\nof Levi, who served in the Temple. Entering from the southern court,\nthey advanced in long procession, singing sacred chants, and playing\non sacbut and harp, psalter and nebble, chinna and tympana. As they\nascended to the choir their voices, mingling with the instruments,\nfilled all the Temple. I never heard before such sublime harmony;\nespecially when on reaching the elevated choir, a thousand Levites with\nmanly voices joined them, and the whole company chanted one of the\nsublimest of the Psalms of David.\n\nWhen the chant was concluded, the whole multitude responded, \"Amen\nand Amen!\" like the deep voice of a mighty wind suddenly shaking the\nfoundations of the Temple.\n\nAt length I beheld a train of priests following the High Priest, as\nhe marched thrice around the altar. In that procession I discovered\na company of proselytes, escorted by twelve aged Levites, with long,\nsnowy beards, and clad in vestments of the purest white. Among the\nproselytes I discerned the tall and noble figure of the Roman \u00c6milius.\nHe was robed in a black garment from head to foot. But upon approaching\nthe baptismal basin two young priests removed this outer sable dress\nand robed him in white. I then saw him baptized into the family of\nAbraham and a new name given him, that of Eleazer. I heard the silver\ntrumpets proclaim the conversion and the multitude shouting their joy.\n\nOf the rest of the ceremony I have no recollection, as after the\nbaptism of \u00c6milius, I was too happy to see or think of anything else.\n\nWhile I was lifting up my heart in gratitude for the happy conversion\nof \u00c6milius, and while the Jews were crowding about him to extend to him\nthe hand of fellowship, rejoicing that so noted a person should embrace\nour faith, Uncle Amos drew my attention by exclaiming with gladness:\n\n\"Behold, there is Jesus, the Prophet!\"\n\nWe at once made our way, but with difficulty, towards the spot where we\nhad discovered him. The rumor that the Christ was in the Temple rapidly\nspread, and the whole multitude pressed towards the same point. At\nlength we obtained our object so as to get within a few feet of him.\nHere a tall, richly-attired Greek addressed Rabbi Amos, saying:\n\n\"Sir, tell me who that youthful Jew is, whose countenance is stamped\nwith firmness and benevolence so finely combined in its expression;\nwhose air possesses such dignity and wisdom; whose noble eyes seem\nfilled with a holy sadness, and whose glance is full of innocence and\nsweetness. He seems born to love men and to command them. All seek to\napproach him. Pray, sir, who is he?\"\n\n\"That, O stranger, is Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish Prophet,\" answered\nUncle Amos, delighted to point him out to a foreigner.\n\n\"Then I am well rewarded for my journey in turning aside to Jerusalem,\"\nanswered the Grecian. \"I have even heard of his fame in Macedonia, and\nam rejoiced to behold him. Think you he will do some great miracle?\"\n\n\"He performs miracles not to gratify curiosity but to bear testimony to\nthe truths he teaches, that they are delivered to him of God. Hark! He\nspeaks!\" cried my uncle.\n\nEvery voice was hushed as that of Jesus rose clear and sweet, and\nthrilling like a celestial clarion speaking. And he preached, dear\nfather, a sermon so full of wisdom, of love to man, of love to God, of\nknowledge of our hearts, of divine and convincing power, that thousands\nwept; thousands were chained to the spot with awe and delight, and all\nwere moved as if an angel had addressed them. They cried, \"Never man\nspake like this man!\"\n\nThe priests, seeing that he had carried the hearts of all the people,\nwere greatly enraged, and, not being able to vent their hatred and fear\nin any other way, they hired a vile person by the name of Gazeel, a\nrobber who, taking one of the blood-stained sacrificing knives by the\naltar, crept towards him behind the column, and, securing a favorable\nposition to execute the deed, raised his hand to strike the Prophet\nfrom behind, when Jesus, turning his head, arrested the hand of the\nassassin in mid-air by a look. Unable to move a muscle, Gazeel stood\nbetrayed to all eyes in this murderous attitude, like a statue of stone.\n\n\"Return to those who hired thee. My hour is not yet come, nor can they\nyet have any power over me.\"\n\nThe assassin bowed his head in abject shame and terror; the knife\ndropped from his hand and rang upon the marble floor, and he sank at\nJesus' feet imploring forgiveness. The people would instantly have torn\nGazeel in pieces, but Jesus said:\n\n\"Let him depart in peace. The day shall come when he will be willing\nto lay down his life to save mine. Ye priests go about to kill me,\"\nhe added, fixing his clear gaze upon the group which had sent Gazeel.\n\"For what do ye seek my life? I have come to my own, and to my Temple,\nand ye receive me not. The day cometh when this Temple shall be thrown\ndown, and not one stone left upon another; and some who hear me shall\nbehold and mourn in that day. Oh, Jerusalem, thou that killest the\nprophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how oft would I\nhave gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens\nunder her wings, and ye would not. Thou shalt be left desolate and cast\nout among cities, because thou knewest not the day of thy visitation.\nFly ye to the Jerusalem which is above, and which is above all, whose\nfoundation is eternal, and whose Temple is the Lord God Almighty, who\nis also the light and glory thereof.\"\n\nUpon hearing these words, there arose a great cry from ten thousand\nvoices:\n\n\"Hail to Jesus, the king of Israel and Judah! Hosanna to the Prince of\nDavid! We will have no king but Jesus!\"\n\nAt this shout, which was caught up and repeated beyond the four\ngates of the Temple, the priests cried aloud that the people were in\ninsurrection.\n\nPilate, who was, with his guard, just leaving the Court of the\nGentiles, hearing it, turned to ask what it meant. One of the priests,\ndesirous of having Jesus slain, quickly answered, \"That the people had\nproclaimed Jesus, the Nazarene, king.\"\n\nHearing this, Pilate sent off messengers to the Castle of David for\nsoldiers, and with his body-guard turned back to the Temple gate,\ncharging the people sword in hand.\n\nThe tumult was now fearful, and the bloodshed would have been great,\nbut Jesus suddenly appeared before him--none saw how he had reached the\nplace--and said:\n\n\"O Roman, I seek no kingdom but such as my Father hath given me. My\nkingdom is not of this world.\"\n\nPilate was seen to bend his proud head with low obeisance before the\nProphet, and said graciously:\n\n\"I have no wish to arrest thee. Thy word, O Prophet, is sufficient for\nme. Of thee I have hitherto heard much. Wilt thou come with me to my\npalace, and let me hear thee, and see some miracle?\"\n\n\"Thou shalt see me in thy palace, but not to-day; and thou shalt behold\na miracle, but not now.\"\n\nWhen Jesus had thus said, he withdrew himself from Pilate's presence;\nand those who would have sought him to make him a king could nowhere\ndiscover him.\n\nThe result of this attempt of the people to make the Prophet their\nking, and under his direction to overthrow the Roman power, is that\nthe Roman authorities, instigated by Annas and the priests, look upon\nJesus with eyes of jealousy, and Pilate this morning told a deputation\nof priests, who waited on him to petition him to arrest and imprison\nthe Prophet, that on the first proof they could bring him of his\nhostility to C\u00e6sar he would send soldiers to take him. To-day Jesus was\nrefreshing himself in our house, when several Scribes and Pharisees\ncame in. I saw by their dark looks they meditated evil, and secretly\nsent Elec with a message to \u00c6milius (now Eleazer) asking him to be at\nhand to protect Jesus; for \u00c6milius is devoted to him, as we are, and\nJesus takes delight in teaching him the things of the kingdom of God.\n\nJesus, knowing the hearts of these bad men, said to them, after they\nhad seated themselves and remained some minutes in silence:\n\n\"Wherefore are ye come?\"\n\n\"Master,\" said Zadoc, a Levite of great fame among the people, \"we have\nheard how boldly thou speakest at all times; that not even Pilate, nor\nHerod, yea, nor C\u00e6sar, could make thee refrain from what thou choosest\nto utter. Is it lawful for us Jews, the peculiar nation of God, to pay\ntribute to C\u00e6sar, who is an idolater? Is it lawful for us to obey the\nlaws of Pilate, rather than of Moses? We ask this as Jews to a Jew.\nTell us frankly.\"\n\nJesus looked fixedly upon them, as if he read their wicked designs, and\nsaid:\n\n\"Show me the tribute money.\"\n\nZadoc handed him a penny, the Roman coin sent into Judea by C\u00e6sar, as\nour currency, and which we return to Rome again in tribute. When Jesus\nhad taken the money, he looked at the head of Augustus stamped upon one\nside, and then turning to them, said:\n\n\"Whose image and whose name is here impressed?\"\n\n\"C\u00e6sar's,\" eagerly answered the whole party.\n\n\"Then render unto C\u00e6sar the things that be C\u00e6sar's, and unto God the\nthings that be God's,\" was his calm and wonderful answer.\n\nI breathed again, for I feared he would answer openly that tribute\nought not to be paid, which they hoped he would do, when they would\nimmediately have accused him to Pilate as teaching that we ought not to\npay tribute to Rome, and so fomenting rebellion.\n\nBut the divine wisdom of his answer relieved all our minds; while the\nScribes and Levites, his enemies, looked upon him with amazement,\ninterchanged glances of conscious defeat, and left the house.\n\n                              I remain your affectionate daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXIII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nI have received with joy your letter, in which you say you shall leave\nEgypt with the next Passover caravan, in order to visit Jerusalem. My\nhappiness is augmented to know that you will be here while Jesus is in\nthe city; for it is said, and John, Mary's husband, asserts, that he\nwill certainly be at the Passover.\n\nLast week Eli, the paralytic, whom you knew, a scribe of the Levites,\nwhose hand has been withered nine years, so that he had been dependent\non the alms of the worshipers in the Temple for his bread, hearing of\nthe power of Jesus, sought him at the house of Uncle Amos, where he was\nabiding.\n\nJesus was reclining with our family at the evening meal, at the close\nof the day on which the uproar had taken place in the Temple, when\nEli came and stood within the door. Humble and doubting, his knees\ntrembled, and he timidly and wistfully looked towards Jesus, but\ndid not speak. I knew at once what the afflicted man came for, and\napproached him, saying, \"Fear not, Eli; ask him, and he will make thee\nwhole!\"\n\nJesus did not see the poor man, his face being turned towards Rabbi\nAmos; but leaving this conversation, he said in a gentle voice, without\nturning round:\n\n\"Come to me, Eli, and ask what is in thy heart. And fear not; for if\nthou believest, thou shalt receive all thy wish.\"\n\nAt this Eli ran forward, and casting himself at Jesus' feet, kissed\nthem and said, \"Rabboni, I am a poor, sinful man; I believe that thou\nart the Christ, the Son of the Blessed!\"\n\n\"Dost thou believe, Eli, that I have power to make thee whole?\" asked\nJesus, looking steadily upon him.\n\n\"I believe, my Lord,\" answered Eli, bowing his face to the ground.\n\n\"Thy sins, then, be forgiven thee. Rise and go to thy house; and sin no\nmore, lest a worse thing come upon thee.\"\n\n\"This man! forgiveth he sins also?\" cried a venerable priest, Manasses,\nwho was at the table. \"He is a blasphemer! for God alone forgiveth\nsins. Will he call himself God?\" And he rose quickly up and rent his\nrobe, and spat upon the floor in detestation.\n\n\"Manasses,\" said Jesus mildly, \"tell me whether it is an easier thing\nto do--to say unto this man kneeling here, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee?'\nor to say, 'Stretch forth thine hand whole as the other'?\"\n\n\"It would be more difficult to do the latter,\" answered Manasses,\nsurprised at the question. \"God alone, who made him, can do that.\"\n\nJesus turned to the paralytic. \"I say unto thee, Eli, stretch forth thy\nhand whole!\"\n\nThe man, looking upon Jesus' face, and seeming to derive confidence\nfrom its expression of power, made a convulsive movement with his arm,\nwhich was bared to the shoulder, exhibiting all its hideous deformity,\nand stretched it forth at full length. Immediately the arm was\nrounded with flesh and muscles; the pulse filled and leaped with the\nwarm life-blood, and it became whole as the other. The change was so\ninstantaneous that it was done before we could see how it was done. The\namazed and wonderingly delighted Eli bent his elbow, and expanded and\ncontracted the fingers, felt the flesh and pressed it with his other\nhand, before he could realize he was healed. Then, casting himself at\nthe feet of the Prophet, he cried:\n\n\"Thou art not a man, but Gabriel, the angel of God!\"\n\n\"Thou art now healed, Eli,\" said Jesus impressively. \"Worship God, and\ngo and sin no more.\"\n\nWho, dear father, but Messias could do this miracle? My mind is\noverwhelmed--I am filled with astonishment and awe, when I reflect\nupon the might, power and majesty of Jesus, and I fear to ask myself.\nWho more than man is he? Is he verily the awful and terrible Jehovah\nof Sinai, visible in the human form? Oh, wondrous and incomprehensible\nmystery! I dare not trust my thoughts to penetrate the mystery in which\nhe walks among us in the veiled Godhead of his power. His beloved\ndisciple, John, said that Jesus has told him the day is not far off\nwhen this veil will be removed, and when we shall then know him, who he\nis, and wherefore he has come into the world, and the infinite results\nto men of his mission.\n\n                                            Your devoted daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n[Illustration: BETHANY]\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXIV.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nAs I was closing my last letter to you, intelligence reached my Uncle\nAmos that Lazarus, the amiable brother of Martha and Mary, was very\nill. The message was brought by Elec, the Gibeonite slave, who, with\ntears in his eyes, communicated to us the sad news. My Cousin Mary and\nI at once set out to Bethany with him.\n\n\"Knowest thou, Elec, the disease that has so suddenly seized my\ncousin?\" asked Mary, as we wound slowly up the path that leads around\nthe steepest side of Olivet.\n\n\"Ah, dear me, noble lady, I know not,\" answered Elec, shaking his head.\n\"He had just returned from the city, where he had been staying night\nand day for a week, laboring industriously to complete a copy of the\nfive books of the blessed Moses for the Procurator's chief captain, for\nwhich he was to receive a large sum in Roman gold.\"\n\n\"What was the name of this captain who seeks to obtain our holy books?\"\nI asked, hope half answering the question in my heart.\n\n\"\u00c6milius, the brave knight, they say, who was made a proselyte at the\nlast Passover.\"\n\nI was rejoiced to hear this proof of the steady desire of the princely\nRoman knight to learn our sacred laws, you may be assured, dearest\nfather. But Elec went on speaking and said:\n\n\"It was his hard work to complete this copy which made him ill; for he\nslept not, nor ceased to toil until he had completed it, and when he\ncame home with the silver-bound roll in his hand, and laid it upon the\ntable before his sisters, he fell at the same moment fainting to the\nground.\"\n\n\"Alas, poor Lazarus!\" we both exclaimed, and urged our mules forward at\na faster pace, our hearts bleeding for the sorrow of his sisters and\nfor his sad condition.\n\nAt length, half an hour after leaving the gate of the city, we drew\nnear to Bethany, and beheld the roof of the house of Lazarus. Upon it,\nwatching the road towards Jerusalem for us, we discovered the graceful\nform of Mary. In a few moments we were in her arms, mingling our tears\ntogether.\n\n\"Does he yet live?\" I asked, scarcely daring to inquire, as she led us\ninto the house.\n\n\"Yes, lives, but fails hourly,\" answered Mary, with forced composure.\n\"God bless you both for hastening to me.\"\n\nAt this moment Martha's pale and suffering face, beautiful even in\nits pallor, appeared in the door of the inner room. Upon seeing us\nshe advanced, and taking both our hands in hers, said in a touching\nwhisper, \"You have come, sweet friends, to see my brother die!\"\n\nShe then led us into the room, where lay upon a couch the form of the\ninvalid.\n\n\"He has slept a little,\" said Martha softly to me, \"but his fever is\nconsuming him. He has now closed his eyes again and seems heavy, but\nhis slumbers are restless, as you see, and he seems to think his dear\nfriend, Jesus the Prophet, is by him; or he talks of Rachel as if she\nwere not present.\"\n\n\"And who is Rachel, dear Martha?\" I asked, as I was about to follow her\nout of the room, leaving her brother to his weary repose.\n\n\"Alas! It was for Rachel's gentle love's sake he now lies there,\" she\nanswered. \"There is the sweet maiden kneeling on the other side of his\ncouch, her tearful face buried in the folds of the curtains.\"\n\nI turned and regarded with tender interest the graceful and\nhalf-concealed form of the young girl as she bent over his pillow, her\nhand clasped by his. At this moment she looked up and directed her gaze\ntowards me. Her face was inexpressibly lovely, bathed as it was in its\nglittering tear-dews, and her large, glorious eyes shone like starry\nheavens of tenderness and love. Her hair would have been raven black,\nsave that rays of golden bronze enriched its waving masses with every\nplay of the light upon it. As our eyes met, she seemed to receive me\ninto her soul, and my heart to embrace hers. Lazarus now moved and\nmurmured her name, when she dropped her eyes and bent like an angel\nover him.\n\n\"Who is this marvelously lovely maiden?\" I asked of Martha, as we went\ninto the court of the hall.\n\n\"The betrothed bride of our beloved brother,\" answered she. \"Sit with\nme here in the shade beneath this vine, and I will tell thee their sad\nstory. Lazarus, you know, dearest Adina, is a writer in the Temple, and\nby his labors has surrounded us all with many comforts, nay, luxuries.\nHis attachment to us led him to forego the pleasure of all other\nsociety, as he said he found in our sweet bond of sisterly love all\nthat he required to render him happy.\n\n\"But a few weeks ago, as he was engaged late and alone in the\ncopying-room of the Temple upon a roll which the noble \u00c6milius had\nordered, he was startled by the sudden entrance of a young girl in\ngreat terror, who seemed to be flying from pursuit. Upon beholding him\nshe bounded towards him, and casting herself at his feet, implored his\nprotection. Amazed and interested, he promptly promised it, but had\nhardly spoken the words before Annas entered and advanced towards her.\nHis face was flushed with rage, and his voice was loud and fierce as he\ndemanded her at the hand of my brother.\n\n\"'Nay, my Lord Annas,' answered Lazarus, boldly, 'were a dove to\nseek shelter from a hawk in my bosom I would protect it, much more a\ndistressed maiden of the daughters of Abraham!' and he placed himself\nbefore the fugitive.\n\n\"'Darest thou protect from me? She is my child, a wicked and\ndisobedient daughter of Belial! Resign her to me, young scrivener, or I\nwill have thee sent to the lowest dungeon of the Castle of David!'\n\n\"'Oh, save me! save me!' cried the young girl, as Annas advanced to\nseize her. 'I am not his child! I am the orphan of Rabbi Levi, who left\nme and my estate to this false priest as a sacred charge. He would now\nsell me in unholy marriage to a Greek captain in the Roman legion, who\noffers him large bribes in gold for me. Rather than be given into the\nhands of this fierce and terrible Grecian, I will cast myself down from\nthe height of the Temple!'\n\n\"And to the surprise and horror of Lazarus, she bounded from the\nlattice and stood upon the edge of the rock, which looks sheer three\nhundred feet down into the valley beneath.\n\n\"'Thou seest, O Annas, to what thy cupidity for gold will drive this\nmaiden. Has the land of Israel sunk so low that its chief priest will\nsell the daughters of the land for gold to the lust of the Gentiles? Is\nthis the way thou givest protection to orphans? Leave her, and until I\nfind a protector for her, she shall be a sacred guest with my sisters\nin their humble abode!'\n\n\"'Thy life shall pay for this arrogance, young man!' answered the\npriest. 'I have power and will exercise it.'\n\n\"'Not to the danger and wrong of this maiden, my Lord Annas, whom\nJehovah will protect, since she has trustingly sought the sheltering\nwing of his altars,' answered my brother firmly. 'If thou continue to\npersecute her, I will appeal to the Procurator, Pontius Pilate, against\nthee.'\n\n\"The result was,\" continued Martha, \"that the wicked priest, alarmed by\nthe threat of appeal to Pilate, relinquished his present purpose and\nleft them, breathing menaces against my brother. The same day Lazarus\nconducted the maiden, whom you already guess to be Rachel, to our\nhouse. She has since then been our guest, and has won all our hearts,\nas well as our dear brother's.\"\n\n\"Is there no hope for him?\" I asked, after listening to her touching\nnarrative.\n\n\"None; the physicians say that he will never rise again.\"\n\n\"There is one hope left,\" I said eagerly.\n\n\"What is that?\" demanded Martha.\n\n\"Jesus!\" I answered. \"Send to him, O Martha, and he will yet save him,\nand raise him up to life and health.\"\n\nI had no sooner spoken than Mary, who overheard me, uttered a cry of\njoy.\n\n\"Yes, Jesus has the power to heal him, and Jesus loves him! He will\ncome and save him the moment he hears of his danger.\"\n\nImmediately Mary wrote on a slip of parchment these brief and touching\nwords:\n\n\"Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. Hasten to come to us, that\nhe may live; for nothing is impossible with thee.\"\n\nThis message was forthwith despatched by the hands of a young friend to\nBethabara, beyond Jordan, where we learned Jesus at present abides. We\nhave, therefore, no hope for our dear relative but in the power of the\nProphet. I will write as soon as we hear. I remain, dear father,\n\n                                           Your attached daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXV.\n\n\nMy Dear and Honored Father:\n\nIt is with emotions of the deepest grief that I convey to you the sad\nintelligence of the death of Lazarus. The hand of the Lord hath fallen\nheavily upon this household and stricken down its prop; smitten the\noak around which clung these vine-like sisters, vine-like in their\ndependence upon him and confiding trust in his wisdom and love. Now\nprostrate in the dust they lie stunned by the sudden and mysterious\nstroke of God's providence.\n\nI have told you, dear father, something of this family; what a happy\nhousehold I have seen it when Jesus completed the number; for he\nstayed so much with them when not preaching, or when wishing to rest\na day or two from his weary toil, that they came to regard him as one\nof their family. Martha seemed ever to be thinking what and how she\nshould administer to his comfort, by providing every delicacy for her\ntable; but so that Jesus could find listeners to his words of truth and\nwisdom, like Mary--who loved to sit at his feet and hear the golden\nlanguage fall from his sacred lips--he thought not of meat or drink.\n\nOne day when I, with Mary and Lazarus, was listening to his heavenly\nteachings, wrapt in wonder and absorbing interest, Martha, who was\npreparing the meal, came and desired Mary to come and assist her; but\nthe dear, pious girl heeded not nor heard her, feeding, forgetful of\nall else, upon the celestial food that fell from the lips of Jesus.\nAt length Martha, finding that Mary had not heard, appealed to Jesus,\nsaying somewhat sharply:\n\n\"Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?\nBid her, therefore, that she help me.\"\n\nWe turned with surprise to hear her, who was usually so gentle and\ngood, thus forget what was due to the presence of the Prophet, and\nLazarus was about to speak and excuse his sister, who looked as if she\nwere much worried with her domestic troubles, when Jesus said kindly to\nher:\n\n\"Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. But\none thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall\nnot be taken away from her. While thou carest much for the wants of the\nbody, she careth for those of the spirit. Think not, beloved Martha, of\nsumptuous living for me, who have no earthly goods, nor even where to\nlay my head.\"\n\n\"Say not thus, oh, say not so, dear Lord!\" cried Martha, suddenly\nbursting into tears at Jesus' touching words, and casting herself\nimpulsively at his feet. \"This house is thy home--ever beneath its\nroof, while I have one above me, shalt thou have where to lay thy head;\nsay not so, my Lord!\"\n\nWe were all moved at Martha's pathetic earnestness. Jesus raised her up\nand said gently:\n\n\"It is thy love for me, I well know, that maketh thee so careful and\ntroubled to provide for me at thy bountiful table. But I have meat to\neat that ye know not of. To teach the truths of God, as thou findest\nme doing to these, is to me meat and drink, for therein I am doing my\nFather's will, who sent me.\"\n\nMy last letter closed with informing you of the departure of the\nmessenger to Jesus. After he had gone out of sight from the door,\nand the last echo of his horse's hoofs ceased to be heard by the\nlong-listening ears of his sister Martha, I re-entered the room where\nLazarus lay. He was as white as marble. His large black eyes seemed to\nbe twice their usual size and brilliancy. He breathed with difficulty,\nand every few moments he would be compelled to have his head raised\nin order to free his mouth from the welling blood that was constantly\nbubbling up from the broken fountains of his life. Mary's tender\nprivilege it was, assisted by Rachel, to render him this service of\nlove. As she bent over him, looking downward with anxious fondness\ninto his pale, intellectual face, watching every shadow of the change\nthat the sable wing of advancing Death cast over it, I thought I had\nnever gazed on a more lovely being. I forgot for the moment the dying\nyoung man about whose form her snow-white arms were entwined, his head\nreclining upon her bosom, her raven tresses, bronzed with a changing\nlight, all unbound and floating above him and over his pillow, like a\nrich veil interwoven of sable silken floss and threads of gold.\n\nI commenced this letter by informing you of the departure of the good\nand generous and pious Lazarus. He fell asleep in death as an infant\nsinks to slumber in its mother's arms.\n\nAll too late was Jesus sent for! To-morrow his burial will take place.\nAlas, how suddenly has perished the noblest young man in Judea!\n\nFarewell, dear father. My heart is full. I can now write no more. The\nGod of Abraham preserve you in your journey, and bring you in safety to\nthe embraces of\n\n                                             Your loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXVI.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nIn my last letter I told you that Lazarus was dead. I write this to\nsay that he who was dead is alive! Lazarus lives! He whom I saw dead\nand buried, and sealed up within the rocky cave of the tomb, is alive\nagain from the dead; and at this moment, while I am penning this\nextraordinary account, I hear his voice from the porch.\n\nHow, my dear father, how shall I find adequate language to tell you all\nthat has happened here within the last twenty-four hours!\n\nThe funeral procession was so very long that strangers, pausing, asked\nwhat great master in Israel, or person of note, was being taken to the\nsepulchre.\n\nSome answered, \"Lazarus, the industrious scribe;\" others said, \"A young\nman who has devoted his life to honor his mother.\" Others answered, as\nLazarus himself, were he alive, would have had them:\n\n\"It is Lazarus, the friend of Jesus.\"\n\nThe place where they were to lay him was the cave in which his father\nand mother were entombed. It was in a deep, shady vale, thickly shaded\nby cypress, palm and pomegranate trees, and a large tamarind grew, with\nits stately branches, overclasping the summit of the secluded place of\nsepulchre. The remote swell of a Roman bugle from the head of a cohort,\nwhich was just issuing from a defile, came softly and musically to our\nears, as we stood in silence about the grove wherein we were to place\nthe dead. \u00c6milius, my betrothed, was also present, wearing a white\nscarf above his silver cuirass, in token of grief, for he also loved\nLazarus. Of him, dear father, I have not of late spoken, for should I\nbegin to write of him I should have no room in my letters for any other\ntheme.\n\nThe sacred observances at the grove being over, they raised the body of\nthe dead young man from the bier, and four youths, aided by \u00c6milius at\nthe head to support it, conveyed it into the yawning cavern. A moment\nthey lingered on the threshold, that Mary and Martha might take one\nmore look, imprint upon its icy cold lips one last kiss, press once\nmore his unconscious head to their loving and bursting hearts.\n\nThe young men moved slowly forward into the gloom of the cave. Mary\nrushed in, and with disheveled hair, cried:\n\n\"Oh, take him not away forever from the sight of my eyes! Oh, my\nbrother, my brother, would that I had died for thee! for I am willing\nto lie down with the worm and call it my sister, and sleep in the\narms of death, as on the breast of my mother, so thou couldst live! Oh,\nbrother, brother, let them not take thee forever from the sight of my\neyes! Without thee, how shall life be life!\"\n\n[Illustration: Rolling stone, closing a sepulchre.]\n\n\u00c6milius entered the tomb and, tenderly raising her from the body, on\nwhich she had cast herself in the eloquent abandonment of her wild\ngrief, he led her forth, and beckoning to me, placed her in my arms.\n\nThe body, being placed in a niche hollowed out in the rock, was\ndecently covered with a grave mantle, all but the calm face, which was\nbound about by a snow-white napkin. Maidens of the village advanced and\ncast flowers upon his head, and many, many were the sincere tears, both\nfrom beneath manly lids and those of virgins, which bore tribute to his\nworth.\n\nThe burial ceremonies being ended, five strong men replaced the\nponderous stone door closely fitting the entrance to the cave, and so\nsecured it, by letting it into a socket, that it would require a like\nnumber to remove it.\n\nAs they were retiring with heavy hearts from performing this last duty\nto the beloved dead, the sun sank beyond the blue hills of Ajalon in\nthe west in a lake of gold. To enjoy the sunset, and to relieve our\nemotions of sadness, I walked apart with Mary to the top of the hill,\nfrom which I beheld the sun gilding the pinnacle of the Temple, and\nmaking it appear like a gigantic spear elevated into the sky. From the\nLevites at evening sacrifice came, mellowed by distance, the deep chant\nof the Temple service, uttered by a thousand voices. The cloud from\nthe altar sacrifice ascended slowly into the still air, and catching\nthe splendor of the sun's last beams, shone as if the pillar of cloud\nand of fire which stood above the tabernacle in the wilderness. The\nlaborers in the harvest were hastening towards the gates, ere they\nshould be shut out for the night by the Roman guards, and dwellers in\nthe village were hurrying forth, lest they should be held in the city\nover night.\n\nThere was a sacred hush in the sleepy atmosphere that seemed in\nsympathy and touching harmony with the scene in which we had just borne\na part. With Mary leaning sobbing upon my shoulder, I sat upon a rock\ngiving my heart up to the sweet influences of the hour. We were alone,\nsave \u00c6milius, who had ridden after us, anxious for our safety, and who\nsat upon his horse near by, gazing upon the beauty of the evening scene.\n\n\"I am calmer now,\" said Mary, after a while, raising her head and\nlooking into my face, her splendid eyes glittering brimful with tears.\n\"The peace of the sweet, holy skies seems to have descended and entered\nmy heart. The spirit of Lazarus pervades all and hallows all I see. I\nwill weep no more. He is happy now, very happy, and let us try to be\nholy and go to him, for he cannot come back to us.\"\n\nAt this moment we heard the tramp of horses' hoofs. \u00c6milius, startled\nthereby from his reverie, recovered his seat and laid his hand upon\nhis sword. The next moment, around a rock projecting from the shoulder\nof Olivet, appeared a horseman in the wild, warlike costume of an\nIshmaelite of the desert, brandishing a long spear in the air; then\nanother and another similarly clad and armed, and mounted on superb\nhorses of the desert, dashed in sight. These were immediately followed\nby a tall, daring-looking young man, in a rich costume, half Grecian,\nhalf Arabic, though his dark, handsome features were decidedly\nIsraelitish. He rode a superb Abyssinian charger, and sat upon his\nback like the heathen centaur I have read of in the Latin books which\n\u00c6milius has given me to read. Upon seeing us he drew rein and smiled,\nand waved his jewelled hand with splendid courtesy; but at the sight\nof \u00c6milius his dark eyes flashed, and leaping to his feet in his\nstirrups he shook his glittering falchion towards him, and rode with a\ntrumpet-like cry full upon him.\n\nThe brave Roman soldier received the charge by turning his horse\nslightly, and catching the point of the weapon upon the blade of his\nshort sword.\n\n\"We meet at last, O Roman!\" cried this wild, dashing chief, as\nhe wheeled his horse like lightning, and once more rode upon the\niron-armed Roman knight.\n\n\"Ay, Barabbas, and with joy I hail thee!\" responded \u00c6milius, placing a\nbugle to his lips.\n\nAt hearing the clear voice of the bugle awaking the echoes of Olivet,\nthe dread robber chief said haughtily and with a glance of contempt:\n\n\"Thou, a knight of the tribune, and commander of a legion, call for\naid, when I offer thee equal battle, hand to hand, and ask not for aid\nof my own men's spears?\"\n\n\"I know no equal battle with a robber. I would hunt thee as I would\ndo the wolf and the wild beasts of thy deserts,\" answered \u00c6milius,\npressing him closely. At a signal from the robber chief his four men,\nwho had reined up a short distance off, near the tomb of Lazarus, sent\nup a shrill, eaglelike scream, that made my blood stand still, and then\nrode down like the wind to overcome \u00c6milius.\n\nHitherto I had remained as one stupefied at being an involuntary\nspectator of a sudden battle, but on seeing his danger, I was at his\nside, scarce knowing how I reached the place.\n\n\"Retire, dear Adina,\" he said authoritatively. \"I shall have to defend\nboth thee and myself, and these barbarians will give both my hands\nenough to do.\"\n\nAs he spoke he turned his horse's head to meet the forefold shock, and\nI escaped, I know not how, with the impulse to hasten to Bethany for\nsuccor. But heaven interposed its aid. A detachment of the body-guard\nof Pilate, hearing the recall of their chief's bugle, came now\ncantering up the hill. At the sight Barabbas and his party fled, like\nwild pigeons pursued by a cloud of Iturean hawks. Barabbas, however,\nturned more than once to fling back defiance to his foes. \u00c6milius soon\nreached his side, seized the crimson sash which encircled his waist,\nand held him thus, both fighting as they rode. The Roman troop came\nup, and after a desperate battle the celebrated chief was taken alive,\nthough bleeding with many wounds, and bound with his own sash to the\ncolumn of one of the tombs.\n\n\u00c6milius says that Barabbas will assuredly be crucified for his numerous\ncrimes. Dreadful punishment! and for one so young as this desert robber\nto come to such an ignominious and agonizing death; doomed to hang for\nhours under the sunbeams by his lacerated hands and feet, till death\nat last comes from slow exhaustion of all the powers of nature. I am\namazed that so polite and humane a nation as the Roman can inflict such\na cruel and agonizing death, even upon their malefactors. Ignominious,\nindeed, must the life of a man have been, for him to be doomed justly\nto suffer such a death.\n\nIn this letter, dearest father, I intended to relate to you how Lazarus\nhas been restored to life, but it is already taken up with so much,\nthat I defer it to my next. Suffice it for me to tell you at the close\nof this letter that it was Jesus who raised him from the dead. And will\nyou say that he is an impostor? That he has done this wonderful thing\nis alone evidence enough to me that he is indeed the Messias of the\nProphets, the Son of God.\n\n                                       Your affectionate daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXVII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nYour letter has filled me with joy that I can poorly express by my\npen. It assures me that you are certain to leave at the new moon, and\nafter a few days' delay at Gaza, that you will be with me not many days\nafterward. This letter I shall send to meet you at Gaza.\n\nIn it I shall make known to you the particulars of the greatest miracle\nof power and love above all those wonders which Jesus has done.\n\nWhen Mary and Martha had despatched the message to Jesus, as I have\nalready stated, they began to be more cheerful with new-born hope,\nsaying:\n\n\"If our dear Rabbi, the holy Prophet, comes, he will heal him with a\nword, as he has done so many of the sick.\"\n\n\"Yes, many whom he knew not he has restored to health by a touch,\"\nremarked Martha, \"how much more Lazarus, whom he loves as a brother!\nOh, that the messenger may press forward with all haste!\"\n\n\"If Lazarus should die ere he come,\" hesitatingly remarked my gentle\ncousin, the wife of John the disciple, \"he could bring him to life\nagain, even as he did the Son of the widow of Nain.\"\n\n\"Yes, without doubt, unless it were too late,\" remarked Martha,\nshrinking at the thought that her brother should die; \"but if he be\nlong dead it will be impossible.\"\n\n\"Nothing is impossible with Jesus,\" answered Mary, her eyes brightening\nwith trusting faith.\n\nThus the hours passed between mingled hopes and fears; but ere Jesus\ncame, lo! the mantle of death was laid over the face of their dead\nbrother. \"Lazarus is dead, and Jesus is far away!\" was the bitter and\ntouching cry made by the bereaved sisters, as they wept in each other's\narms.\n\nThe next day the burial took place, and yet no messenger came from\nJesus. The morning of the third day the man returned, and said that he\nhad found the Prophet on the farther bank of Jordan, where John had\nbaptized, abiding in a humble cottage in the suburbs of Bethabara with\nhis disciples.\n\nThe bearer of the sad tidings from the two sisters delivered his simple\nand touching message:\n\n\"Lord, behold he whom thou lovest is sick!\"\n\n\"And what said he--how did his countenance appear?\" asked Martha of the\nman.\n\n\"He betrayed no surprise, but said calmly to me, 'Son, I know it! This\nsickness shall not be unto death. It shall be for the glory of God; for\nhereby will my Father permit me to be glorified, that men may see and\nbelieve truly that I came out from God.'\"\n\n\"Alas! He knew not how ill his friend was,\" said Mary, \"or he would not\nhave said it was not unto death, and would surely have hastened with\nyou.\"\n\n\"He has forgotten us,\" answered Martha. \"He should be here to console\nus in our deep affliction, though he came not to heal our brother.\"\n\n\"Nay, sister, do not think hardly of the blessed friend of Lazarus,\"\nsaid Mary, with soothing tones, as she caressed her elder sister. \"I\nfeel that if he had seen fit he could have raised up our brother,\neven speaking the word from Bethabara. It was not needful he should\nsee him to heal him, for dost thou remember how he healed Lucius, the\ncenturion's son? Yet at the time he was a day's journey distant from\nhim.\"\n\n\"Then why, oh, why, did he not save Lazarus?\" exclaimed Martha bitterly.\n\n\"In that he did not, sweet sister,\" answered Mary gently, \"it was for\nthe best. Did he not say to the messenger his sickness should be to the\nglory of his power?\"\n\n\"But not his death, Mary, not his death! He is dead four days already,\nand how can the grave give glory to the power of Jesus? Will he raise\nhim up, since corruption hath begun, nay, begun ere we laid him in\nthe cold sepulchre? Oh, speak not to me of the Prophet! He loved not\nLazarus, or he had not the power to save him! Nay, leave me, Mary, to\nthe bitterness of my grief.\"\n\n\"Ah, dear Martha, how soon is thy faith in Jesus, when tried, become\nnaught!\" said Mary, bending upon her, from her dark, earnest eyes,\nlooks of sad reproach. \"Shall one day overturn your years of holy\nfriendship for him? Because he answered not our prayer to come to\nLazarus, think you he loved him not, and is indifferent to our anguish?\nHe is wronged by your reproof, and injured by your want of confidence\nin his love and care for us.\"\n\nWhile they were thus discoursing, one came running swiftly towards the\nhouse, and breathless with haste, cried to them and to the Jews sitting\nthere, who had come to comfort them concerning their brother:\n\n\"The Prophet! The Nazarene! He comes!\"\n\nAlmost at the same moment Elec, the Gibeonite, entered and said:\n\n\"Jesus, Messias of God, is at hand! He already entereth the village\nfollowed by his disciples.\"\n\nAt this intelligence the mourners who sat with Mary and Martha in the\nvine porch, rose up to go and meet him; but Martha, shrieking with the\nreaction of sudden joy, sprang up and, more quickly than they, reached\nthe street, and flying with great speed, came where Jesus was.\n\nMary, who had received the news without betraying any other emotion\nthan the secret and holy joy of a heart that had confidence all along\nin her Lord, instead of hastening to meet him rending her hair with\ngrief, like her sister, proceeded to prepare a room for the hospitable\nentertainment of the beloved Prophet, when he should come in, thus\ntaking Martha's usual place; and when she had arranged all, she sat\ndown with me in the house, her heart filled with joy and her face\nexpressive of calm and quiet happiness.\n\nWhen Martha had come near Jesus, whom she met just entering Bethany,\nwalking with four of his disciples along the dusty road, and looking\nweary and travel-worn, she ran and threw herself at his feet, crying:\n\n\"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died!\"\n\nJesus taking her hand raised her up, and said with emotion, for he\nseemed deeply moved by her grief:\n\n\"Death to those whom my Father loveth is sleep. The good die not!\nLazarus is not dead, but sleepeth, and he shall rise again!\"\n\n\"I know, O Rabboni, that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the\nlast day.\"\n\nJesus then said to her, lifting his celestial glances towards heaven:\n\n\"I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he\nwere dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me\nshall never die! Believest thou this, daughter?\"\n\n\"Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which\nshould come into the world. I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of\nGod, God will give it thee, and that even now thou couldst bring\nLazarus back again!\"\n\n\"Corruption and the worm have begun their work,\" said a proud and\nunbelieving Pharisee near, on hearing this. \"Whatever may have been the\nstate of the ruler's daughter, and of the son of her of Nain, Lazarus\nthe scribe, at least, is dead!\"\n\nTo this speech Jesus made no reply, but turning to Martha, said softly:\n\n\"This day my Father shall be glorified, and the world shall truly know\nthat I am come from Him who is life and the giver of life. Go thou, and\ntell thy sister that I am here, and would have her come and speak with\nme.\"\n\nMartha, then, overjoyed and wondering that Jesus should have known her\nthoughts, so as to reproach her for her little faith as he had done,\nhastened to her sister, and entering, cried:\n\n\"I have seen the Lord! He calleth for thee, Mary. Come and see him as\nhe sits by Isaiah's fountain, near the market-place.\"\n\nMary rose quickly and went out. Certain of her Jewish friends from\nJerusalem at that moment met her at the door, and began to comfort her,\nand to ask her if they also should go with her to weep at the grave of\nLazarus, for they said one to another:\n\n\"She goes unto the grave to weep there!\"\n\n\"She goes to see Jesus, the friend of Lazarus, for he calleth her,\"\nanswered Martha, smiling with eagerness, and speaking with an animation\nthat presented a singular contrast to her late deep grief.\n\nMary hastened to where Jesus sat by the fountain bathing his dusty and\nwounded feet.\n\n\"Lord,\" she said, in her sister's words, and with deep emotion, \"if\nthou, Lord, hadst been here, my brother had not died!\"\n\nThen bowing her head to the edge of the marble basin, she wept very\nheavily. The Jews, men and women, who stood about, being touched with\nher sorrow, also wept, while glittering tears coursed their way down\nthe face of the beloved John, his disciple, who stood near.\n\nJesus sighed deeply and groaned in spirit as he beheld her grief and\ntheir mourning with her. His sacred countenance was marred with the\nanguish of his soul.\n\n\"Rise, let us go to the grave where he lieth,\" he said to them. \"Where\nhave ye laid him?\"\n\n\"Come, dear Lord, and see,\" answered Mary, holding him reverently by\nthe sleeve of the robe, and gently yet eagerly drawing him towards the\nplace of the tombs in the vale of Olivet.\n\nIn the meanwhile, at home, Martha had been diligently, and with strange\ncheerfulness, getting in readiness the room of Lazarus. She swept and\ndusted it, and garnished it with fresh flowers, which she gathered in\nthe little garden.\n\n\"This is the rose he set out and loved. This is the violet which blooms\nimmortal. I will place it upon his pillow,\" she said, with a joyous\nhilarity softened by the most lovely look of peace, while hope shone in\nher eyes like twin morning stars ushering in a glorious day. She spoke\nscarcely above her breath and moved on tiptoe.\n\n\"For whom is this preparation, dearest Martha? For Jesus?\" I asked.\n\n\"Oh, no. The holy Prophet's own room is ready. Mary has prepared that.\nThis is Lazarus' room, and I am decorating it for him.\"\n\n\"Dost thou truly believe that he is coming back from the dead?\" I\nasked, between doubt and strange fear.\n\n\"Believe? Oh, yes! I know that nothing is impossible with Jesus!\nI doubt no more! My faith trembles no longer! He will raise up my\nbrother, and this day he shall sit down at our table with us again, and\nthis night rest his head in peaceful slumber upon this pillow which I\nam strewing with his favorite flowers. Never had house two such guests\nas we shall have this day--the Messias of God, and one come back alive\nfrom the dead!\"\n\nAt this moment we heard the noise of the multitude passing by, and it\nbeing told us that Jesus was going to the grave, Martha, embracing me\nwith a heavenly smile, drew me gently after her to follow the blessed\nProphet to the tomb. All Bethany was in his footsteps.\n\nHow shall I describe Jesus as he then appeared? He wore a blue robe,\nwoven without seam throughout, the affectionate work and gift of the\ntwo sisters. His face was very pale and sad, yet a certain divine\nmajesty rested thereon, so that his calm, high forehead looked as if it\nwere a throne. His holy, earnest eyes were full of sorrow. His mouth,\ncompressed, betrayed the effort he made to suppress the outbursting of\nhis heart's deep grief.\n\nSlowly he moved onward and, entering the cemetery, he soon stood before\nthe tomb of his beloved friend.\n\nFor a few moments he stood gazing upon the closed stone door of the\ncave in silence. There reigned an expectant hush among the vast throng.\nMary knelt at his feet, gazing up into his countenance with a sublime\nexpression of hope and trust. Martha drew softly near and fell upon her\nknees by the side of her sister. Jesus looked tenderly upon them and,\nresting his eyes upon the tomb, wept. Large, glittering tears rolled\ndown his cheeks and glanced from his flowing beard to the ground. I\nknelt by the side of the sisters.\n\n\"Behold how he loved him!\" whispered the Jews present with surprise.\n\nOthers said, \"Could not this man which opened the eyes of the blind,\nhave caused that even this man should not have died?\"\n\nJesus, heaving a deep sigh, now came nearer the grave. With a slight\nmovement of his right hand to those who stood by, he said in a tone\nthat, though low, was heard by the whole people, so solemn was the\nsurrounding stillness:\n\n\"Take ye away the stone!\"\n\n\"Lord,\" said Martha, \"by this time the body is offensive, for he hath\nbeen dead four days.\"\n\n\"Daughter,\" said Jesus, looking on her, \"believe, and thou shalt behold\nthe power of God.\"\n\nThe men then with some difficulty took away the stone from the door\nof the sepulchre and stood upon one side. The dark vault yawned with\ngloomy horrors, and, so corrupt was the air that rushed out, all fell\nback from it, save Jesus and Mary, retiring several steps from the\nentrance.\n\nJesus stood looking into the cave where, as our eyes became accustomed\nto the darkness within, we could discern the corpse of Lazarus, covered\nwith the grave mantle, and his face bound with a napkin which was\nalready discolored with the sepulchral damp of the grave.\n\nRaising his hands towards heaven and lifting up his spiritual\neyes, which were yet moist with tears, Jesus spoke in a voice of\nindescribable pathos and earnestness of appeal, and with a manner of\nthe most awful reverence, as follows:\n\n\"Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I know that thou\nhearest me always, but because of the people which stand by do I offer\nunto thee this prayer, that they may believe that the power I have\ncometh from thee, and that they may believe that thou hast sent me.\nAnd now, O holy Father, may I glorify thee on the earth with the power\nwhich thou hast given me.\"\n\nHe then turned towards the tomb, and stretching forth his hand, he\ncried with a loud voice that made every heart quake:\n\n\"Lazarus, come forth!\"\n\nMy blood stood still in my veins. Scarcely daring to behold, I looked\nand beheld what all eyes also saw, the corpse rise and stand up within\nthe vault, turn round with its face towards us, and come forth, wrapped\nhand and foot with the grave-clothes, and his face bound about with a\nnapkin. His countenance was like marble for whiteness, and his eyes,\nwhich were open, beamed supernaturally brilliant.\n\nAt beholding him a simultaneous shriek burst from the lips of the\npeople, and there was a terrified backward rush of all who were nighest\nthe cave.\n\nMartha, wildly uttering her brother's name, fell forward upon her face\ninsensible.\n\n\"Loose him and let him go free!\" said Jesus calmly, addressing the\npetrified and amazed men who had taken away the stone.\n\nMary was the first one who had the firmness to approach him, and as she\nbegan removing the napkin from the sides of his face, others, taking\ncourage by her example, hastened to unswathe his arms and feet. In a\nfew moments he was free from his outer grave-clothes, and the healthful\ncolor of his cheeks coming to him, his lips flushed brilliantly with\nred, his eyes looked natural, beaming with wonder and love as he gazed\nabout him. Perceiving Jesus, he was about to cast himself at his feet\nin gratitude (for he seemed to have consciousness of all that had\nhappened), but the mighty Prophet drew him to his embrace and kissed\nhim.\n\nBut my pen refuses to find language to express the unspeakable emotions\nof joy and gratitude, words of love and praise, that filled all hearts.\nNow the great Prophet, now Lazarus, and now Jesus again received the\nplaudits of the vast throng of people. Hymns were chanted to Jehovah as\nwe passed through the streets, and so many fell down to worship Jesus\nthat it was long before we crossed the threshold of the dwelling, which\nJesus did indeed enter with Lazarus by his side! And Martha did see\nher brother sit at the table, and that night his head rested in deep\nslumber upon the flower-strewn pillow which her faith and love had\nprepared for him.\n\nWith the hope of soon embracing you, I remain as ever,\n\n                                             Your loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXVIII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nLike all my letters, the theme of this will be Jesus, whose claims\nto be the Messiah I unspeakably rejoice to hear you are beginning to\nregard with more favorable eyes.\n\nNow Jesus, whose power to work miracles you yourself, my dear father,\nhave confessed must be conferred by Jehovah alone, asserts distinctly\nand everywhere that he is Messias, the Son of God, the Shiloh of\nIsrael, of whom Moses and the prophets so eloquently wrote. Besides\nclaiming for himself this high character, he was heard, by both my\nUncle Amos and myself, in the synagogue at Bethany, two days after he\nraised Lazarus from the dead, to read from Esaias the words following,\nand apply them to himself, which he had done before at Nazareth:\n\n\"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me\nto preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the\nbroken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering\nof sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised; to\npreach the acceptable year of the Lord.\"\n\nThe synagogue was thronged, so that people trod upon one another. All\neyes were now intent, and all ears were ready to hear what he should\nspeak. He then said unto them:\n\n\"This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. Ye ask me, O\nscribes and men of Israel, to tell you plainly who I am--whether I am\nthe Christ or no. What saith the prophet of Messias when he shall come?\nYe have just heard his words. If such works as he prophesieth do show\nforth themselves in me, know ye not who I am?\"\n\nHere a voice cried out in the assembly:\n\n\"Tell us plainly, art thou the Christ, the Son of the Highest?\"\n\nAt this direct inquiry there was intense interest shown to hear the\nreply.\n\nJesus seemed about to answer, when a man, who stood near the reading\ndesk, in whom was an unclean spirit, cried out, with a shrieking voice\nof mingled terror and awe:\n\n\"Let me alone! Leave me as I am, thou Jesus of Nazareth! Art thou come\nhither to destroy me? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God!\"\n\nJesus rebuked the devil which possessed the man and said, in the voice\nof a master commanding a bond slave:\n\n\"Hold thy peace, Satan! The Son of man needeth not, though thou givest\nit, thy testimony. Hold thy peace, and come out of the man!\"\n\nAt this word the man uttered a fearful cry of despair and rage, and\nfoaming at the mouth cast himself, or rather was thrown down by the\ndevil within him, to the ground; where, after a moment's terrific\nstruggle, with contortions of bodily anguish, he lay senseless as if\ndead. Jesus took him by the hand, and he stood up and, looking in the\nface of the Prophet with earnestness and wonder, burst into tears of\ngratitude, exclaiming:\n\n\"I am escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is\nbroken, and I am escaped. God hath delivered me out of the hand of my\nenemy!\" He then sat at the feet of Jesus, calm, grateful, happy, and in\nhis right mind! All gazed on him with wonder, while from the great mass\nof the people rose a great shout, for they were all amazed, saying:\n\n\"This is none other than the Christ, the Son of David! This is the\nKing of Israel!\" while the loud shouts of \"Hosanna! hosanna! hosanna!\"\ncheered by a thousand voices, \"Hosanna to our King!\" shook like a\npassing storm the synagogue.\n\nWhen the noise had a little subsided, some of the Scribes and Pharisees\nsaid, reproving him for not rebuking these cries:\n\n\"Who is this that suffereth himself to be hailed as king? This is\ntreason to the emperor!\"\n\nJesus then said in a loud, clear voice:\n\n\"My kingdom is not of this world! I seek not an earthly throne or\nearthly sceptre. My kingdom is from above. Ye say truly, I am king,\" he\nadded, with indescribable majesty, \"and hereafter ye shall behold me\nsitting upon the throne of heaven.\"\n\nWhen he had thus far spoken he could not proceed farther, on account of\nthe sudden and immense uproar which his words produced. Some shouted,\n\"Hosanna!\" others said he blasphemed; one cried for the Roman guard,\nanother for the priests, to eject him from the tribune; many rushed\ntowards him to cast themselves at his feet, while many, putting their\nfingers in their ears, hurried forth from the synagogue, crying:\n\n\"His blasphemies will cause the house to fall upon us and crush us!\"\n\nNever was such an uproar heard. In the midst of it Jesus conveyed\nhimself away, none knew whither; and when I returned to the house of\nMartha I heard his low, earnest, touching voice in prayer to God in his\nlittle chamber. He had sought its sacred quiet to be alone with his\nFather in heaven. At times I could hear him praying and supplicating,\nin tones of the most heart-breaking pathos; at others the silence of\nhis room was only broken at intervals by sighs and pitiful groans that\nseemed to come from a breaking and crushed heart. Oh, what hand may\nremove the veil and reveal what passed there in that holy retirement\nbetween the Prophet and his God!\n\nIt was late in the day when he came forth, Martha having softly tapped\nat his door to say that the evening meal was prepared and alone waited\nfor him. When he appeared his face was colorless and bore traces of\nweeping, and though he smiled kindly upon us all, as he was wont to do,\nthere was a deep-seated sorrow upon his countenance that brought tears\nto my eyes. \u00c6milius joined us at the table, and with dear Lazarus and\nwith Uncle Amos, we passed a sacred hour; for the Prophet ate not, but\ntalked to us much and sweetly of the love of God, and as all listened\nthe viands were forgotten.\n\nPardon me, dearest father, if I am too warm and urgent in my efforts to\nbring you to accept Jesus as the Christ. Convinced, as I am, that he\nis Messias, I cannot but ardently desire that you, also, should come\nto the knowledge of this truth. What he is yet to be, how he is yet\nto develop his majesty and power, is unknown to us all. Some do think\nthat he will enter Jerusalem ere long, attended by tens of thousands\nof his followers, and that before him Pilate will peaceably vacate his\nProcuratorial chair, and retire, not only from the Holy City but from\nJudea, with his legions; that Jesus will ascend the throne of David,\nand the glory of the age of Solomon be revived under his rule.\n\nSuch, dear father, is the future of the Prophet, as looked for by all\nhis disciples save one, and this is John, the husband of my Cousin\nMary. John, on hearing our views of the coming glory of the Prophet,\nlooks compassionate and says:\n\n\"His kingdom is not of this world. He has naught to do with the\nsplendors of earth. His glory you will behold, but it is a glory of the\nspirit. Ere perceiving it fully we may first pass through the valley of\ndarkness, the gate of the tomb. He has distinctly said to me, 'I must\nfirst suffer many things at the hands of men before I enter upon my\nreign of glory. The Jews will seek me to kill me, and I shall be taken\nfrom among you; but let not sorrow fill your hearts. Death can have no\npower over me save such as I permit it to hold. I lay down my life and\nI take it again. Through much tribulation and sorrow must the Son of\nGod win the sceptre of this earth--the hearts of men. I shall conquer,\nbut to do so I must fall. Yet fear not. My death shall be the gateway\nto Paradise for you all!'\"\n\nThus, dear father, do we discourse together about this wonderful\nProphet, whose future life is all a mystery, save that, from the\nprophecies, we know it is to be inconceivably glorious; from his own\nlips, to be inconceivably sorrowful. But whether on a throne, giving\nlaws to the world, or in the dust, borne down by the deepest woe, I\nshall still love, honor, reverence him and trust in him as my Savior,\nmy Prince, and the Holy One of God!\n\n                                          Your devoted and loving,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXIX.\n\n\nMy Dearest Father:\n\nWith what emotions of grief and amazement I commence this letter you\ncan form no just conception. Jesus, the Prophet of God, is a prisoner\nto the Roman power!\n\nBut I fear not the issue! He cannot be holden of his foes, save by his\nown free will. He can, with a word, turn his chains into bands of sand,\nand by a glance render his guards dead men. He will, therefore, escape\ntheir bonds. They can have no power over him.\n\nIt seems that to-day, after eating the Passover with his twelve chosen\nfriends, and instituting a new and peculiar feast with wine and bread,\nwhich he told them impressively would be his last supper with them, he\nwent forth towards Olivet, and there, seating himself beneath the shade\nof a tree, he talked with them very sadly, saying that \"his hour was\ncome, that he had ended his work, and that he was about to be delivered\ninto the hands of sinful men.\"\n\nJohn gave the following narrative: \"It was evening, and the south side\nof Olivet lay in deep shadow. We were all sorrowful. We felt, each\none of us, as if some grievous evil was pending over us. The tones of\nour beloved Master's voice moved us to tears, quite as much as his\nwords, which latter were full of mystery. We were all present except\nIscariot, who had remained in the city to discharge the costs--he being\nour purse-bearer--of the Passover supper and pay for the hire of the\nroom. At that supper Jesus had said very plainly that one of our number\nwould betray him into the hands of the priests. At hearing our Lord say\nthese strange words in accents of touching reproach, we were all deeply\nmoved, and Peter and the rest at once questioned him individually, if\nit were they. 'Lord, is it I?' and another, 'Lord, is it I?' I was\nresting, at the moment, with my face on the shoulder of Jesus, and said\nsoftly, 'Lord, who is it that betrayeth thee? I will forthwith lay\nhands upon him and prevent his doing thee harm.' Jesus shook his head\nand smiling gently, said:\n\n\"'My beloved brother, thou knowest not what thou would do. The Son of\nman must needs be betrayed by his own friends, but woe unto him who\nbetrayeth me! Mark which of the twelve dippeth bread with me into the\ndish!'\n\n\"I looked and saw Judas reach forward and dip into the dish at the same\ninstant with Jesus; but in his eagerness, or from conscious guilt,\nhis hand trembled, he spilled the salt over the board, and the sop\nfell from his grasp into the bowl; upon which Jesus gave him the piece\nhe held, saying to him, with a remarkable expression in his clear,\npiercing eyes:\n\n\"'Judas, that thou doest, do quickly!'\n\n\"Instantly Judas rose from the table, and without a reply or casting a\nlook at any of us, went out.\n\n\"For a few moments after his footsteps had ceased to be heard, there\nprevailed a heavy silence in the chamber, for a strange fear had\nfallen upon us; why, we could not tell; and looking into one another's\nfaces, and then into our dear Master's, we seemed to await some dread\nevent. His face was placid and full of affection as he looked upon us.\nThe momentary cloud which shaded the noble profile when he spoke to\nJudas had all passed off, and there was the serenity of a cloudless sky\nin his face.\"\n\n\"What was the mysterious feast which he instituted?\" asked Mary,\ninterrupting John here.\n\n\"You may properly call it mysterious,\" he answered. \"As we were eating\nthe Passover, Jesus took up bread and, blessing it by a solemn act of\nconsecration, broke it with his hands and gave a portion to each of us,\nsaying with it, 'Take, eat; this is my body!'\n\n\"Awed and impressed by his manner and the act, we all received and\nate it as he commanded us to do, as reverently as if it were the holy\nshew-bread of the Temple, dedicated to God's use. When we had eaten in\nsilence what we perceived was the inauguration of a new and most sacred\nfeast by his own hand, he took up the cup of wine, and consecrated it\nalso by giving thanks and blessing. The hallowed cup he now offered to\neach one of us. We all drank of it with deep devotion, for he said to\nus, 'I will drink no more with you the fruit of the vine until that day\nthat I drink it new in the kingdom of God!' He also said of the wine,\n'This is my blood!'\"\n\n\"And how do you understand these words, that the bread consecrated was\nhis body, and the wine was his blood?\" I asked of the disciple.\n\n\"That is an inquiry I cannot answer,\" said John. \"It is a mystery. But\nthe Lord says it shall be made clear to us by and by.\n\n\"We then sang the Passover hymn to God, and went out at his command to\ngo to Olivet. As we went he discoursed with us:\n\n\"'My children,' he said. 'I am to be with you but a little while\nlonger. The hour of my departure is at hand. Remember my last\nwords--love one another. In this shall all men know that ye are my\ndisciples.'\n\n\"'Lord,' cried Peter, 'we will go with thee! Thou shalt not leave us\nnor go without us!'\n\n\"Thus we all, eagerly and tearfully, gathered around him, alarmed and\ngrieved at the words he had said. He regarded us lovingly and said:\n\n\"'Little children, I must leave you. Whither I go you cannot come!'\n\n\"'Though thou wentest to the uttermost parts of the sea, I will follow\nthee, my Master and Lord!' exclaimed Peter. 'Whither goest thou, that\nwe may not follow? I will lay down my life for thee; and so will all\nthese!'\n\n[Illustration: AN ORIENTAL SUPPER SCENE.]\n\n\"'Wilt thou die for me, Peter?' asked Jesus, gazing on him with a sad,\nsweet look. 'Verily, verily, Peter, thou little knowest thyself. The\ncock shall not crow twice ere thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest\nme.'\n\n\"'Deny thee, Lord!' repeated Peter, with amazed grief and horror in his\nlooks.\n\n\"'Yes, Peter,' answered Jesus, firmly but kindly, 'deny that thou ever\nknewest me; for the time draweth near when there shall be safety only\nin confessing ignorance of Jesus the Nazarene. And all ye,' he added,\nwhile his voice grew tremulous, and tears glistened in his eyes, 'all\nye shall be offended because of me this night; ye shall be ashamed\nthat ye are my disciples, and ye will think me a deceiver and will be\ndispleased at me. Yea, every one of you shall desert me; for thus it\nis written: \"The shepherd shall be smitten, and the sheep shall be\nscattered!\"'\n\n\"When he saw that our hearts were troubled and that we were sad, and\nthat the faithful Philip sobbed aloud at being supposed capable of\nabandoning his Master, he added, 'Let not your hearts be troubled; I go\nto prepare a place for you in my Father's house!'\n\n\"'Thy father, Lord, no longer liveth in Nazareth; and, were he alive,\nthere are but two small apartments in his humble house,' said Thomas.\n'How sayest thou that we are all to lodge there?'\n\n\"'Thomas, thou canst understand only what thine eyes see. I speak of my\nFather who is in heaven. In his house are many mansions.'\n\n\"Jesus then, as we drew near Cedron, began plainly to tell us that he\nwas to die, and that by his death we should be admitted into a heavenly\nparadise and live forever. We could not understand all he said, but we\nknew that he was soon to be taken from us and sorrow filled all our\nhearts. After discoursing with us in the most touching words, he at\nlength said:\n\n\"'Come, let us go over Cedron to the side of Olivet, into the garden we\nso much love to walk in.'\n\n\"We went with him, inclosing him as a guard, to conceal his person\nfrom the Jewish spies, as well as to defend him. Peter and James went\nbefore. The full moon shone brightly, and by its light glancing on the\nface of Jesus, by whom I walked, I saw that it was sadder than its\nwont, while he spoke but little.\n\n\"We at length crossed the brook and entered the dark groves of Olivet.\nFamiliar with all the paths, we advanced to a central group of\nvenerable olive trees, beneath which, tradition says, Abraham used to\nsit; and there Jesus, turning to us, said in a voice of the deepest woe:\n\n\"'Friends, the hour of my time of trial is come! My work is ended. I\nwould be alone. Remain you here and watch, for we shall be sought for.\nCome with me, Peter, and you also, James. I am going to pray yonder.'\n\n\"'Take me, also, dear Lord!' I said, sorrowfully.\n\n\"'Yes, thou art always with me, beloved!' he answered. 'I will not\nleave thee now.'\n\n\"So leaving the eight friends to keep watch against the intrusion of\nhis enemies, who were known to be everywhere seeking him, he walked\naway to the most secluded recesses of the garden. He stopped at the\nplace near the rock where Adam is said to have hidden from Jehovah, and\nsaying to us in a sorrowful tone, 'Tarry ye here, while I go apart and\npray to my Father,' he went from us about a stone's cast and kneeled\ndown, where a thick olive branch hanging low to the ground concealed\nhim from our view. I was so solicitous lest he should leave us and we\nshould see him no more, that I soon softly advanced near to the spot\nand beheld him prostrate on the ground, while deep groans broke from\nhis heart. I heard his voice murmuring, but could not distinguish the\nwords broken by grief; only the tones were those of strange horror and\ndread.\n\n\"As he prayed thus in great agony, I suddenly beheld a swift light\npass by me, as if from the skies, and lo! an angel stood by the side\nof Jesus, bending over him and raising him up from the ground. A\nsoft, bright glory shone around the spot, so that Peter, seeing it,\nadvanced towards me, supposing some one had entered the garden bearing\na torch. I beckoned to Peter to be motionless, and he gazed with me in\nspeechless astonishment and admiration upon the form of the angel, from\nwhose glorious face was emitted the radiance which illumined the place\nwhere Jesus was. As the angel raised Jesus from the ground, we saw that\nhis divine countenance was convulsed with anguish, and upon his brow\nstood great shining drops of sweat, mingled with blood, which oozed\nfrom his pallid temples and, rolling down his marble cheeks, dropped to\nthe ground. Never had we beheld a human visage so marred by sorrow, so\ndeeply graven with the lines of agony.\n\n\"The angel seemed to utter soothing words, and pointed with his shining\nhand towards heaven, as if to encourage him with hope and give him\nstrength. The face of Jesus grew more serene; he raised his eyes\nheavenward with a divine expression of holy love, and cried in a strong\nvoice:\n\n\"'Thy will, not mine, O God, be done!'\n\n\"The angel then embraced him, as if strengthening him, and soaring\nupward, disappeared like a star returning into the blue depths of\nheaven, while Peter and I stood by wondering and full of awe at what we\nbeheld.\n\n\"We remained for some time conversing together upon the wonderful\nvision we had seen, which confirmed us in the certainty that Jesus\ncame from God, and was in truth the Messias that should come; but\nat length, wearied with our day's excitements, we must have fallen\nasleep, for we were suddenly startled by the voice of our dear Master\nsaying:\n\n\"'Why sleep ye, children? But the hour is past for watching. Ye may\nsleep on now, for though your flesh is weary, your spirit is willing. I\nneed your aid no longer!'\n\n\"While he was speaking, we saw many torches gleaming through the trees,\nalong King David's walk, and the tramp of feet fell on our ears. We\nsoon saw a large party advancing into the midst of the garden, who\nwalked rapidly and spoke only in undertones. We at once took the alarm\nand said to Jesus:\n\n\"'Fly, dear Master! Let us ascend the hill, and escape by the way of\nBethany, for these are enemies!'\n\n\"'Nay,' answered our dear Master. 'It must needs be that I deliver\nmyself into the hands of these men. How else shall the Scriptures be\nfulfilled? Seek safety in flight for yourselves, but I must go whither\nthey will lead me.'\n\n\"'Not so, Lord,' answered Peter. 'There is time for thee to escape; or,\nif not, we will stand by thee and defend thee.'\n\n\"So said all the disciples. Jesus shook his head and said, with a sad\nsmile, 'Ye know not what ye say or would do. Mine hour is come!'\n\n\"While he yet spake the multitude drew nearer, and those who had the\nlead, raising their torches high above their heads, discovered us,\nwith Jesus in the midst. To my surprise I beheld Judas acting as their\nguide, for he alone knew where his Master was to be found at that hour.\nUpon discovering Jesus this wicked man ran forward, with expressions of\nfriendship in his face, and kissed Jesus on the cheek, saying:\n\n\"'Hail, Master! I am glad I have found thee!'\n\n\"'Judas,' said Jesus, 'betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?'\n\n\"When Judas heard this he turned to the multitude, at the head of which\nI recognized some of the chief priests, and of the most learned scribes\nof the Temple, and cried aloud:\n\n\"'This is he! Seize him, and hold him fast!'\n\n\"Thereupon the crowd, to the number of full ten score men, among whom\nwere the vilest sort of people, rushed forward to lay hands upon Jesus,\nthe moon and torches together shedding almost the bright light of day\ninto the garden upon the whole group.\n\n[Illustration: MOUNT OF OLIVES.]\n\n\"At seeing them advance so furiously, with spears and clubs and swords,\nPeter and James placed themselves before Jesus to defend him, while I,\nbeing unarmed, cast myself across his breast, to shield his heart with\nmy body. The more bold men in the crowd coming too near, Peter smote\none of them with his sword, as he was reaching out his arm to grasp\nJesus by the shoulder, and clave off his ear. At seeing this the crowd\nuttered a fierce shout, and were pressing upon us, when Jesus raised\nthe palm of his hand and said quietly:\n\n\"'Whom seek ye?'\n\n\"Instantly the whole mass rolled backward, like a receding billow\nrebounding from the face of an immovable rock, and every man thereof\nfell with his forehead to the ground, where they all lay for a minute\nstunned. We twelve alone stood, for Judas had not been struck down,\nand now remained gazing with amazement and terror upon the prostrate\nenemies of Jesus.\n\n\"'Lord,' cried Peter, astonished, 'if thou canst thus repel thy foes,\nthou needest not fear them more. Shall I smite Judas also?'\n\n\"'Nay, put up thy sword, Peter! Let him remain to witness my power,\nthat he may know that he nor his have any power over me save that I\ngive them.'\n\n\"While he was thus speaking the people and soldiers rose to their\nfeet, and, instead of flying, they seemed to be infuriated at their\ndiscomfiture; and the chief priests crying out that it was by sorcery\nthat they had been thus stricken down, they rushed madly forward and\nlaid their hands upon Jesus and upon us all. In vain I contended\nagainst numbers to rescue Jesus; overpowered, we were defeated and\ndriven from the garden, leaving Jesus in the hands of his enemies.\"\n\nWhen John had gone thus far in his relation, dear father, our tears and\nhis were mingled. But we try and comfort ourselves with the word of his\npromise:\n\n\"Ye know not now, but ye shall know by and by, and shall believe truly\nthat I came out from God. What now seems to you mysterious shall be\nmade clear as light. Wait and have faith, and all shall be made known\nwhich now you understand not. Let no trials and degradations ye see me\npass through cause your faith to fail. I am come into this world to\nconquer; but if I stoop, it is to raise up the world with me when I\nrise again!\"\n\nI have omitted to mention to you what more John related as wonderful\ntouching the arrest of the Prophet. \"As the chief priests bound and\nlaid their hands on him, there was,\" he said, \"heard in the air the\nsound of myriads of rushing wings, and notes like the gathering\nsignal of a trumpet, echoing and re-echoing in the skies, as if a\ncountless host of invisible beings were marshaling, armies by armies,\nin mid-heaven! At these fearful and sublime sounds all raised their\nheads but could behold nothing. Then Jesus said, with a majestic and\ncommanding look, such as I had never before beheld upon his face:\n\n\"'Ye hear that I am not without heavenly friends! I have only to pray\nto my Father which is in heaven, and he will bid twelve legions of his\nangels, now hovering in the air and yearning to defend me from my foes,\ndescend to my aid! But I desire not to use my powers for myself.'\"\n\nThus, dear father, was Jesus borne away by a fierce multitude and\ndragged into the city.\n\nJohn, whose interest in and affection for Jesus led him to follow them,\nheard all this; but Jesus made no answer, only walking quietly along,\npatiently enduring all they said and did.\n\nAs they entered the city gate the Roman guard, seeing the immense crowd\nand uproar, stopped them to learn the cause of the commotion.\n\n\"'We have here a traitor and conspirator, O captain of the guard,'\nanswered Eli, the chief priest: 'a pestilent fellow, who calls\nhimself Christ, a king! We have, therefore, with this band of hired\nsoldiers, taken him, as he was met secretly with twelve of his\nfellow-conspirators, plotting to overthrow the government of C\u00e6sar and\nmake himself king of Judea.'\n\n\"'Long live C\u00e6sar! Long live the emperor!' shouted the Roman soldiers.\n'We have no king but Augustus Imperator!'\n\n\"Upon this many of the soldiers cried, 'Take him before the Procurator!\nHe will give him his deserts, who would take his procuratorship away\nfrom him! To Pilate! To Pilate!'\n\n\"'To Annas!' shouted the Jews. 'First to Annas!'\n\n\"Then, with some shouting one thing and others another thing, he was\nhurried towards the house of Annas.\n\n\"When Annas knew that the prisoner was Jesus, he uttered a fearful oath\nexpressive of his joy and wicked satisfaction, and, hastily robing and\ncoming down into the court, he bade them bring the prisoner in. But the\ncalm majesty of Jesus abashed him, and checked the course of insulting\nquestions he began putting to him. At length finding that the Prophet\nwould make no reply, he caused him to be bound still more closely with\nmore cords, lest he should, like Samson, rend his bonds and escape on\nthe way, and sent him to Caiaphas, the High Priest, saying to him:\n\n\"'Caiaphas will find voice for thy tongue, O Prophet! So, thou wouldst\ndestroy the Temple, and callest thyself the Son of the Lord Jehovah!\nOut, blasphemer! Away with him, or the house will be swallowed up\nwith the presence of one so impious! Away with the man! By the crown\nof David! Pilate will make thee king in truth, and give thee a Roman\nthrone, to which, so that thou mayest not presently fall from it, he\nwill nail thee foot and hand!'\n\n\"At this the cruel crowd shouted their approbation, and many cried:\n\n\"'Ay, to the cross! to the cross with him!'\n\n\"But others said, 'Nay, but to Caiaphas!'\n\n\"The captain of the Roman soldiers resolved that he should be taken\nbefore Pilate, and led the way thither, Jesus bound in the midst.\"\n\nWith renewed uproar they tumultuously pressed forward, their way\nlighted by the red glare of a hundred torches, insulting the Roman\nsoldiers with seditious cries. John followed, but being recognized as\none of his disciples by a soldier in \u00c6milius' legion, he was seized and\nonly escaped by leaving his apparel in the grasp of the rude Roman.\nFive of the disciples who have escaped arrest, are now in this house,\nwhither John fled also, on eluding the grasp of the soldier, leaving\nhis linen garment in his hand. We are all so sad and anxious! To move\nin favor of Jesus is only to share his fate and do him no service.\n\nYet through all, dear father, I do trust in him and hope! Oh, I cannot\ndoubt his truth and power! I have seen him bring Lazarus up from\nthe grave, and I will not believe but that he can save himself, and\nwill save himself, from their hands. It is only when I shall behold\nhim really no more--see him really dead--that my faith in his divine\nmission will waver.\n\nWith eyes blinded with tears, I can scarcely subscribe myself,\n\n                                     Your sad but loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXX.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nI know not how to write--I know not what to say! Dismay and sorrow fill\nmy heart! I feel as if life were a burden too heavy to hear! They have\ncrucified him!\n\nVerily fear and a snare are come upon us--desolation and destruction,\nO my father! We know not which way to turn. He in whom we trusted has\nproved as one of us, weak and impotent, and has suffered death without\npower to save himself. He that saved others could not escape the death\nof the Roman cross! While I write, I hear the priest Abner, in the\ncourt below, mocking my Uncle Amos in a loud voice:\n\n\"Your Messias is dead! A famous great prophet, surely, you Nazarenes\nhave chosen--born in a manger and crucified as a thief! Said I not\nthat he who could speak against the Temple and the priesthood was of\nBeelzebub?\"\n\nRabbi Amos makes no reply. Shame and despair seal his lips. Thus our\nenemies triumph over us, and we answer only with confusion of face.\n\nThis unexpected, this unlooked-for, startling result has stupefied me,\nand not only me but all who have been so led by fascination as to trust\nin him. Even John, the beloved disciple, I hear now pacing the floor of\nthe adjoining room, sobbing as if his noble heart would burst. Mary, my\ncousin's sweet voice, I catch from time to time trying to soothe him,\nalthough she is stricken like us all to the very earth. The unhappy\nJohn I hear despairingly answer her:\n\n\"Do not try to comfort me, Mary! There is no ground for hope more! He\nis dead--dead! All is lost! We who trusted in him have only to fly, if\nwe would save our wretched lives, into Galilee, and return once more\nto our nets! The sun which shone so dazzlingly has proved a phantom\nlight and gone out in darkness! He whom I could not but love, I see\nthat I loved too well, since he proves not what I believed him to\nbe! Oh, how could he be so like the Son of God and yet not be! Yet I\nloved and adored him as if he were the very Son of the Highest! But I\nhave seen him die as a man--I have gazed on his lifeless body! I have\nbeheld the deep wound made into his very heart by the Roman spear!\nI cast myself upon him, when he was taken down from the cross, and\nimplored him, by his love for me, to give some sign that he was not\nholden by death! I placed my trembling hands over his heart. It was\nstill--still--motionless as stone, like any other dead man's! He was\ndead--dead! With him die all our hopes--the hopes of Israel!\"\n\n\"He may live again,\" said Mary, softly and hesitatingly, as if she\nherself had no such hope. \"He raised Lazarus, thou dost remember!\"\n\n\"Yes, for Jesus was living to do it,\" answered John, stopping in his\nwalk; \"but how can the dead raise the dead? No, he will never move,\nspeak, nor breathe again!\"\n\nBut I will not further delay the account of his trial and condemnation,\nfor you will be anxious to know how such a man could be condemned to\na malefactor's death. In my last letter I spoke of his arrest through\nthe traitorous part enacted by Judas. Led by his captors, bound by the\nwrists with a cord, Jesus was taken from the dark groves of Olivet,\nwhere he had been found at prayer, and conducted with great noise into\nthe city by C\u00e6sar's gate. It is near this archway that Rabbi Amos\nlives. I will copy for you my Cousin Mary's account of it to Martha of\nBethany, just written by her, instead of adding any more to my own.\n\n\"I went out upon the basilica, which overlooked the streets,\" says\nMary, \"and beheld a multitude advancing with torches flashing, and\nsoon they came opposite the house, at least two hundred men in number,\nhalf clad and savage looking, with fierce eyes and scowling looks.\nHere and there among them was a Levite urging them on, and I also\nbeheld Abner the priest firing their passions by loud oratory and eager\ngesticulations. Behind rode five Roman horsemen, with levelled spears,\nguarding a young man who walked with a firm step. I burst into tears.\nIt was Jesus! His locks were dishevelled, his beard torn, his face\nmarred, and his garments rent. He was pale and suffering, yet walked\nwith a firm step. I burst into tears, and so did Adina, who had come\nout to see what was passing. He looked up and said touchingly, 'Mourn\nnot for me.'\n\n\"He would have said more, but the priest smote him rudely upon the\nmouth, and the crowd, following his example, would have done him\nfurther insult but for the Roman soldiers, who turned their spears\nevery way to guard him from violence, for they had rescued him from\nthe terrible rage of the Jews by their centurion's orders, and were\ncommanded to bring him safely before Pilate. So, thus guarded and\nescorted by the men who thirsted for his blood, he was led onward\nto the Pretorium, where the Roman Procurator resided. Gradually the\nwhole multitude disappeared in the distance when silence, a dread and\nunearthly silence, succeeded. I turned and looked in Adina's face. She\nwas leaning, as colorless as marble, against one of the columns of the\nbasilica.\n\n\"'What can all this mean?' she said, with emotion. 'Can it be possible\nhe has suffered himself to be taken--he who could destroy or make alive\nwith a word? What means this dreadful scene we have just witnessed?'\n\n\"I could not answer. All I knew was what my eyes just beheld--that\nJesus our Prophet, our King, our Messias, on whom all our hopes and\nthe joy of Israel rested, was dragged a prisoner through the streets,\nhelpless and without a helper. I trembled with I knew not what unknown\nforebodings. Suddenly Adina cried:\n\n\"'He cannot be harmed! He cannot die! He is a mighty Prophet, and\nhas power that will strike his enemies dead. Let us not fear. He has\nyielded himself only the more terribly to defeat and destroy his foes.\nWe will not fear what Pilate or the priests will do! They cannot harm\nthe Anointed Shiloh of the Lord!'\n\n\"While we were yet talking, dear Martha, a dark figure passed\nstealthily along beneath the basilica, and seemed to court the shadows\nof the house. At this moment my father, Rabbi Amos, opened the outer\ngate, with a torch in his hand, to follow, at our request, the crowd of\npeople, and see what should befall Jesus. The light glared full upon\nthe tall, spare form of Peter, the Galilean fisherman. His dark, stern\nfeatures wore an expression of earnest anxiety.\n\n\"'Is it thou, Peter?' exclaimed my father. 'What is all this? Who has\nordered the arrest of Jesus? What has he done?'\n\n\"'That hateful and envious man, Caiaphas, seeks to destroy him, and\nhas bribed with large lures of gold the baser Jews to do this thing.\nCome with me, Rabbi, and let us die with him!' and the Galilean pressed\neagerly forward at a pace with which my father could not keep up.\n\n\"And this was an hour ago, and yet no news has come from the Pretorium;\nbut from time to time a dreadful shout from the hill on which the\npalace of Caiaphas stands, breaks upon my ears, and the glare of unseen\ntorches illumines the atmosphere high above the towers of the palace.\nIt is a fearful night of agony and suspense. Adina, in her painful\nuncertainty, but for my entreaties would go forth alone towards the\nPretorium to hear and know all. I can keep myself calm only by writing\nto you. Adina has also commenced a letter to her father, recording\nthese sad things, but she drops her pen to start to the balcony at\nevery sound. When will this fearful night end! What will the morrow\nreveal!\n\n\"It is an hour since I wrote the last line. The interval has been one\nof agony. Rumors have reached us that the priests insist on Pilate's\npassing sentence of death on the Prophet. The cries, 'Crucify him!\nCrucify him!' have distinctly reached our ears. John is now here.\nAbout half an hour after Jesus passed he reached our house nearly\ndestitute of apparel, his clothing having been torn from off him by\nthe Jews, in their efforts to make him their prisoner also. He is calm\nand confiding, saying that his beloved Master can never be injured by\nthem, and that he will ere many hours deliver himself from his foes,\nand proclaim himself king of Israel with power such as man never had\nbefore. May the God of Jacob defend him! John has just gone up to the\nTemple to get news, in disguise of a priest, wearing my father's robes.\n\n\"I have just seen a messenger passing in great haste along the street,\nand his horse falling, cast him almost upon our threshold. It was the\npage of \u00c6milius, the noble Roman knight, who is betrothed to my Cousin\nAdina. She hastened to his aid. He was but stunned, and soon was able\nto say that he bore a message from Lucia Metella, the fair and youthful\nbride of Pilate, urging him to have nothing to do with the Prophet, but\nto give him his liberty, for she had just awakened from an impressive\ndream in which she saw him sitting on the throne of the universe,\ncrowned with the stars of heaven, the earth a footstool beneath his\nfeet, and all nations assembled and doing him homage.\n\n\"This report of the page has filled our hearts with joy and hope\ninexpressible. Confident that Jesus is the Son of God, we will not fear\nwhat man can do unto him.\n\n\"My father has returned. It is day. He says nothing can save Jesus but\nhis own divine power. The Jews are in number many thousands, and cry\nfor his blood. Pilate has but a cohort of soldiers and fears to use\nforce, lest the exasperated people break into open revolt and take the\ncity from his hands, which they can with ease do if they will unite.\n'He trembles,' said my father, 'between fear to condemn the innocent\nand dread of the vengeance of the Jews if he let him go. Nothing can\nsave the Prophet but his own mighty miracle-working power. He who has\nsaved others will surely save himself.'\n\n\"While my father was speaking a man rushed into our presence. He was\nlow in stature, broad-chested, with a stiff, reddish beard, narrow\neyes, and sharp, unpleasant visage. His attire was ragged and mean, as\nwas his whole aspect. He grasped in his right hand a small bag, which\nrung with coin as his shaking fingers held it. He trembled all over,\nand seizing my father by the arm with the quick, nervous grasp of a\nlunatic, cried hoarsely:\n\n\"'Will he let them? Will he? Will he?'\n\n\"'Will he what, Iscariot? Of whom do you speak? Art thou crazed? Thou\nshouldst well be, after thy deed to-night!'\n\n\"'Will he let them kill him? Will he die? Will he die? Think you he\nwill escape? He can if he will! Cords to him are ropes of sand!'\n\n\"'No, no. He is bound hand and foot!' answered my father, sadly. 'He\nmakes no defense. I fear he will let them do as they will with him. He\nmakes no effort to save his life.'\n\n\"At this Judas, for it was that wicked man, beat his knitted forehead\nin a frenzied manner with the bag of silver, and with a look of\nhorrible despair rushed forth, crying as he went:\n\n\"'I will save him! The priests shall have their money again! He shall\nnot die! If I had believed he would not do some miracle to escape them,\nI never would have sold him! I hoped to get their money, and trusted,\nif they bound him, for him to escape by his own power. I did not dream\nthat he would not exert it to save himself. I will save thee, innocent\nman of God, for I, not thou, alone am guilty! Oh, if I had suspected\nthis--but he shall not die!'\n\n\"With these ravings he disappeared towards the Pretorium, leaving us\nall amazed at what we had heard.\n\n\"The sun is up. The fate of Jesus is sealed! The Procurator has\nsigned the sentence of death and he is to be crucified to-day. But,\nwith Judas, I believe that he cannot die, and that he will signalize\nthe hour by some wonderful miracle of personal deliverance. Thus,\ntremblingly, we hope and wait.\"\n\nHere terminates, my dear father, what my cousin has written to Martha\nand Lazarus.\n\n                               Your sorrowing but loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXXI.\n\n\nDearest Father:\n\nI have only terminated my last letter to take up my pen for the\nbeginning of another, for I find relief only in writing to you from the\ndeep affliction which has struck me to the earth. If anything can add\nto my mortification at the death of the Nazarene, Jesus, it is that I\nshall have endeavored so earnestly to make you believe in him also.\nOh, I shall never have confidence in a human being again; and the more\nlovely, the more holy, the more heavenly the character of any one, the\nwiser and purer their teachings, the more distrustful shall I be of\nthem.\n\nBut I will turn from these painful thoughts and, as I promised in my\nlast, will give you an account of what passed at his trial.\n\nIt is now the morning following the crucifixion, and I am calmer\nthan I was yesterday and will be able to write with more coherency.\nTwenty-four hours have passed since he was nailed to the cross. His\nfollowers have been, since his arrest, hunted like wild beasts of the\nwilderness. Annas has hired and filled with wine fierce Roman soldiers,\nand sent them everywhere to seize the fugitive Nazarenes. John was\nespecially sought out, and the emissaries of Annas came at midnight\nlast night to the house to take him, but we assisted him in making\nhis escape by means of the subterranean passage that leads from the\ndwelling of Rabbi Amos to the catacombs beneath the Temple.\n\n\u00c6milius, though only recently a convert from the paganism of Rome, is\nfirm in his faith that Jesus will rise again to life; and, instead of\ngiving up all, as we do, he says that he should not be amazed to be\nsuddenly told by the soldiers, whom he left to guard his tomb, that he\nhad burst forth alive from the dead!\n\nBut I have forgotten that I am to narrate to you, dear father, the\nparticulars of his accusation, trial and condemnation. As I was not\npresent in the Pretorium, I am indebted for the further details which I\nshall give, in part to John and in part to Rabbi Amos.\n\n\"As soon as the mob of Jews who had Jesus under arrest, and which I\nsaw pass the house, reached the abode of Rabbi Annas, he asked them\nwhom they had in custody, and when they answered that it was the great\nNazarene Prophet, he said with joy:\n\n\"'Bring him into the lower court, that I may see him. By the rod of\nAaron, I would have him do some notable miracle for me.'\n\n\"And thus speaking, the white-headed old man hastened down to the\ncourt, which, on reaching, he found thronged with the infuriated\nmultitude. It was with difficulty he made a passage to where Jesus\nstood, both imprisoned and defended by a glittering lattice of Roman\nspears. After regarding him attentively he said, with curiosity yet\nwith sarcasm:\n\n\"'Art thou, then, the King of the Jews? Hast thou come to reign on the\nthrone of David? Show me a sign from heaven, and I will acknowledge\nthee, O Nazarene!'\n\n\"But Jesus stood calm and dignified, making no answer. Annas then\nangrily plucked him by the beard, and a messenger at the same moment\narrived to say to him that Caiaphas, the High Priest, demanded to have\nJesus brought before him. Upon this he said in a loud voice:\n\n\"'Lead him to the palace! Caiaphas, my son-in-law, would see the man\nwho would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days!'\n\n\"There now arose a dreadful shout from the priests and people, who,\nrushing upon Jesus, cried, 'Crucify him!' and attempted to grasp his\nperson, as they guarded him along the streets; but in protecting him,\nas they had been commanded to do, the Romans wounded several of the\nJews. Hereupon there was a great cry of sedition and shouts of:\n\n\"'Down with the Roman eagles! Down with the barbarians! Death to the\nGentiles!'\n\n\"These cries were followed up by a fearful rush of the mass of men\nupon the handful of guards. They were forced back, their spears broken\nlike straws or turned aside, and Jesus successfully wrested from their\npower. But in the height of the battle \u00c6milius appeared with a portion\nof the legion of which he was Prefect, and instantly charging the\npeople, who fled before the breasts of his horses, rescued the Prophet.\n\n\"'Rabbi,' said \u00c6milius to the Prophet, with compassionate respect,\n'I know thou hast power from God to disperse as chaff this rabble of\nfiends. Speak, and let them perish at thy divine command!'\n\n\"'Nay, my son. I am come into the world for this hour,' answered Jesus.\n'This, also, is a part of my mission from my Father. It becomes me to\nendure all things, even death.'\n\n\"'You cannot die, my Lord,' said \u00c6milius warmly. 'Did I not see thee\nraise Lazarus from the tomb?'\n\n\"'To die I came into this world, but not for myself. I lay down my\nlife, and I can take it again. These men could have no power over me\nexcept my Father did grant it to them. And what my Father willeth I\nwill also. Seek not, my son, to deliver me.'\n\n\"These words passed between them beneath the portico, as \u00c6milius was\nloosing the sharp cords from the bleeding wrists of the youthful\nProphet.\n\n\"'To Caiaphas! To Caiaphas!' now cried the multitude, who had been\nfor a moment awed by the bold charge of the Roman horse, but now grew\nbolder as some men removed the dead and wounded out of sight. 'To the\npalace with the blasphemer! for he who calls himself God is, by our\nlaw, to be punished with death! To the High Priest with him!'\n\n\"'I can rescue you, great Prophet!' said \u00c6milius resolutely. 'Give me\nthe word, and you are mounted on my horse and safe in the castle of\nDavid.'\n\n\"'The High Priest has sent for me. He must be obeyed,' answered Jesus;\nand \u00c6milius, surprised at his refusal to escape, reluctantly escorted\nhim to the palace. The windows already glared with torches, and the\nsuperb Hall of Aaron was alight with a hundred flambeaux. Caiaphas\nwas already upon his throne, although it was long past the hour of\nmidnight--an unwonted time for him to sit in the council chamber;\nbut his desire to have Jesus brought before him led him to hold an\nextraordinary court. A score of the elders and chief priests were\nstanding about him, their dark, eager faces earnestly watching the\nentrance to get a look at the approaching Prophet. As Jesus serenely\nentered, led by the sorrowful \u00c6milius, Caiaphas bent his tall, gaunt\nform forward, thrust his neck and huge head in advance, and with keen\neyes and sharp, scrutinizing glances, surveyed him whom he jealously\nlooked upon as his foe.\n\n\"The multitude, pressing in, soon filled the vast hall and even crowded\nupon the rostrum, upon which were seated the scribes, elders and many\nof the principal priests. The Roman soldiers, with clanging steel,\nmarched in, and arrayed themselves on either side of the High Priest's\nthrone, leaving Jesus standing alone before its footstool.\n\n\"Contrasting with the brilliancy of the gorgeous hall and the\nglittering robes of the priests, surged and heaved and moved below the\ndark masses of the people, in their gray and brown caps and cloaks, for\nthe night was cold and they wore their winter garments; and all this\nwild ocean of human forms gleamed with ten thousand eyes, flashing like\nthe phosphorescent stars that glitter on the surface of the upheaving\nsea when the shadow of the storm-cloud hangs above it, and the winds\nare about to be unbound to lash it into fury. So seemed this terrible\nsea of human heads--Jesus the center of their looks and of their hate.\nHe alone, of all that countless host, he alone was calm, serene,\nfearless! Caiaphas now waved his hand, with a gesture for silence, and\naddressed Jesus:\n\n\"'So, then,' he spoke, with haughty irony, 'thou art Jesus, the\nfar-famed Galilean prophet! Men say thou canst raise the dead! We\nwould fain behold a miracle. Thinkest thou, if we put thee to death\npresently, thou canst raise thyself?'\n\n\"'Jesus,' saith Rabbi Amos, who stood near him and saw all, 'Jesus\nremained unmoved. His bearing was marked by a certain divine dignity,\nwhile an expression of holy resignation sat upon his features. He\nlooked like Peace, incarnate in the form of man! A soft influence\nseemed to flow from his presence, producing a universal but momentary\nemotion of sympathy. Caiaphas perceived it, and cried in his harsh,\nstern voice:\n\n\"'You have brought this man before me, men of Jerusalem; of what do you\naccuse him? Let those who have accusations come forward and make them.\nHe is a Jew, and shall have justice by our laws.'\n\n\"'Ye Jews have no power to try a man for his life, most noble\nCaiaphas,' said \u00c6milius. 'The lives of all your nation are in the hand\nof C\u00e6sar and of his tribunals. You can put no man to death.'\n\n\"\u00c6milius had spoken in hopes that if Jesus could be brought before\nPilate, the Procurator, he might be by him released, for he knew Pilate\nhad no envy or feeling against the Prophet.\n\n\"'Thou sayest well, noble Roman,' answered Caiaphas, 'but for the crime\nof blasphemy against the Temple we are permitted by C\u00e6sar to judge our\npeople by the laws of Moses. And this man, if rumor comes nigh the\ntruth, has been guilty of blasphemy. But we will hear the witnesses.'\n\n\"Hereupon several of the chief priests and scribes who had been going\nin and out among the crowd, brought forward certain men whose very\naspect showed them to be of the baser sort. One of these men testified\nthat he had heard Jesus say that he would destroy the Temple and could\nagain in three days rebuild it more magnificently than it was in the\ndays of Solomon the Mighty.\n\n\"Upon this testimony all the priests shouted, 'Blasphemer!' and called\nfor Jesus to be stoned to death.\n\n\"A second witness was now produced by Abijah, the most passionate of\nthe scribes, who testified that Jesus had taught in Samaria that men\nwould soon no longer worship in the Temple, but that the whole earth\nwould be a temple for Jews and Gentiles.\n\n\"This was no sooner heard than some of the men gnashed at Jesus with\ntheir teeth, and but for the gestures and loud voice of the High\nPriest, they would have made an attempt to get him into their power.\n\n\"A third witness, a man who had been notorious for his crimes, now came\nup. He carried on his wrist a cock, with steel gaffs upon the spurs,\nas if he had just been brought up from the cock-pit to bear testimony,\nfor such were the sort of fellows suborned by the priests. He testified\nthat Jesus said that the day would soon come when not one stone should\nbe left upon another of the Temple; that he had called it 'a den of\nthieves,' the priests 'blind guides' and 'deceivers,' the scribes\n'foxes,' and the Pharisees 'hypocrites.'\n\n\"But the fourth and fifth witnesses contradicted each other, as also\ndid others.\n\n\"Such opposite testimony perplexed and irritated Caiaphas and\nconfounded the chief priests and scribes. The High Priest now began to\nperceive that Jesus would have to be released for want of testimony\nagainst him.\n\n\"'What! Galilean and blasphemer of God and his Temple, answerest thou\nnothing?' cried the High Priest; 'hearest thou not what these witness\nagainst thee?'\n\n\"But Jesus remained silent. Caiaphas was about to break the silence by\nsome fierce words, when a voice was overheard the other side of the\ncolumns, on the left of the throne, where was a fireplace in which was\nburning a large fire, about which stood many persons. Rabbi Amos at\nonce recognized in the violent speaker Peter, who had come in with him\nand John, the latter of whom, in the disguise of a priest, stood not\nfar from Jesus, gazing tenderly upon him, and listening with the most\npainful interest to all that they testified against him; but Peter\nstood farther off, by the fire, yet not less eagerly attending to all\nthat passed.\n\n\"'Thou art one of the Nazarene's followers!' cried the voice of a maid,\nwho brought wood to feed the fire. 'Thou needest not to deny it. I am\nof Galilee, and knew thee when thou wert a fisherman. Seize him, for he\nis one of them!'\n\n\"'Woman, I swear by the altar and ark of God, and by the sacred Tables.\nI know not the fellow! I never saw Galilee!'\n\n\"'Thy speech betrayeth thee, now thou hast spoken!' cried the woman;\n'thou art a Galilean, and thy name is Simon Bar-Jona. I know thee well,\nand how, three years ago, you and your brother Andrew left your nets\nto follow this Nazarene!'\n\n\"'May the thunders of Horeb and the curse of Jehovah follow me, if what\nthou sayest be true, woman. Thou mistakest me for some other man. I\nswear to you, by the head of my father, men and brethren, that I never\nsaw his face before! I know not the man!'\n\n\"As he spoke,\" said John, \"he cast his angry looks towards the place\nwhere Jesus stood. He caught his Master's eyes bent upon him, with a\ntender and reproving gaze, so full of sorrowing compassion, mingled\nwith forgiveness, that I saw Peter start as if smitten with lightning.\nHe then pressed his two hands to his face and, uttering a cry of\nanguish and despair that made the High Priest look, and which went\nto every heart, he rushed out by the open door into the darkness and\ndisappeared. As he did so the cock, which was held tied upon the wrist\nof the third witness, crowed twice in a loud tone. I then remembered\nthe words of Jesus to Peter, spoken but twelve hours before: 'This\nnight, even before the cock crow the first watch of the morning, thou\nshalt thrice deny that thou knowest me!' Upon this,\" added John, \"my\nconfidence in my Master came back full and strong, and I felt that he\nwould not, could not be harmed, for he foreknew all things that could\nhappen to him, and would yet escape death.\n\n\"At length, after great excitement and dissension among the elders,\nchief priests and scribes, Caiaphas placed Jesus before their great\ncouncil, at their demand. Their hall adjoined his own. Here they, as\nwell as Caiaphas, questioned him closely, and said:\n\n\"'Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? I adjure thee by the\nliving God, tell us plainly.'\n\n\"Jesus then elevated his princely form, and bending his eyes upon\nthe face of the High Priest, with a look so brightly celestial that\nCaiaphas involuntarily dropped his eyelids to the ground, answered and\nsaid:\n\n\"'Ye have said that which I am!' The expression of his countenance,\"\nsays John, \"seemed to shine as he had seen it in the Mount, when he was\ntransfigured before him.\n\n\"'Men of Israel and Judah, ye hear his words!' cried the High Priest,\nrending down the blue lace from his ephod. 'Hear ye his blasphemy! What\nthink ye? Need we any further witness than his own mouth?'\n\n\"'He is guilty of death!' cried Abner, in a hoarse voice, his eyes,\nred with being up all the night, glaring like a leopard's; and\nadvancing to where Jesus stood bound and bleeding, he spat in his face\nthrice.\n\n\"This was followed by a loud outcry for his death, and several vile\nfellows also spat upon him and pulled him by the beard.\n\n\"'Is this Jewish justice?' cried \u00c6milius indignantly to Caiaphas. 'Do\nyou condemn and kill a man without witness? Stand back, for Romans are\nnot used to see men condemned without law. Back, fellows, or your blood\nwill flow sooner than his for which you thirst!'\n\n\"At this determined attitude they gave back for a moment, and left\nJesus standing in the midst, sad but serene.\n\n\"John ran to him and wiped the blood and uncleanness from his lips\nand cheeks and beard, and gave him water, which the woman who had\nrecognized Peter compassionately brought in a ewer.\n\n\"'Master, use thy power and escape from them!' whispered John.\n\n\"'Nay, tempt me not, beloved!' he answered. 'My power is not for my\ndeliverance, but for that of the world. For you I can do mighty works,\nbut for myself I do nothing. I came not to save my life, but to lay it\ndown. Mine hour is at hand!'\n\n\"'Let not a handful of Romans frighten you, men of Jerusalem!' cried\nAbner. 'There is not a legion in all the city. Here we are masters, if\nwe will it! To the rescue! Let me hear the lion of Judah roar in his\nmight, and the eagle of Rome will shriek and fly away! To the rescue!'\n\n\"'Hold, men and brethren!' cried Caiaphas, who had judgment enough to\nsee that the first blow would be the beginning of a revolution that\nwould bring down upon the city the Roman army quartered in Syria and\nend in the destruction of the nation. 'Hold, madmen!'\n\n\"But his voice was drowned amid the roar of the human tempest. \u00c6milius\nand his men were borne away on the crest of the surge and so pressed by\nthe bodies of the Jews that they could not make use of their weapons.\nIn the wild confusion Jesus was carried by fierce hands to the opposite\nend of the council chamber, while Caiaphas strove to appease the wrath\nof \u00c6milius, who insisted that the fate of Jesus should be left with\nPilate the Procurator.\n\n\"When \u00c6milius, aided by the authority of Caiaphas, at length came where\nJesus had been dragged, they found him standing blindfolded among a\ncrowd of the basest fellows of Jerusalem, who were diverting themselves\nby slapping his cheeks, and asking him to tell, by his divine knowledge\nof all things, who did it. They would also hold money before his\nblinded eyes, and ask him to name its value or inscription, and when he\nstill kept silence they struck him.\n\n\"'We will let thee go, Nazarene,' said one, 'if thou wilt tell how many\nhairs I have in my beard.'\n\n\"'Nay, let him divine,' cried another, 'what I gave for my Passover\nlamb in the market, and the name of the Samaritan of whom I bought it!'\n\n\"'Out with your lambs, Kish!' shouted a third fellow, thrusting himself\nforward; 'let me hear him prophesy! What, Galilean! silent and sullen!\nI will make thee speak!' and he let a blow of his staff fall upon the\nhead of Jesus which would have struck him to the earth, but for the\nvoice of Caiaphas, which had arrested in part its force.\n\n\"'Men of Israel!' he cried aloud, 'that this pestilent Nazarene is a\nblasphemer we have heard with our ears, and by our law he ought to die,\nbecause he hath made himself the Son of God. But C\u00e6sar hath taken the\npower of life and death out of our hands! We Jews can put no man to\ndeath, but the Romans only. That he hath spoken against C\u00e6sar, and is\na seditionist, can be proved. Let us take him before Pilate with this\naccusation!'\n\n\"This speech pleased the people, and, having rebound Jesus more\nsecurely, they cried all with one voice, 'To Pilate! To the Pretorium!'\"\n\nThe multitude then poured out of the gates of the palace, like a\nfoaming and chafing river which hath overflowed its banks, and with\nterrible cries, which we heard even in our house, took the direction\ntowards the Pretorium.\n\nIt was with difficulty that \u00c6milius could protect the Prophet in safety\nup the hill and to the entrance of the Pretorium, which he entered\nwith his prisoner just as the sun gilded the loftiest pinnacles of the\nTemple.\n\nIn another letter, dear father, I will continue the account of his\ntrial, the remembrance of which, while I now write of it, almost\nrekindles again all my love, faith, devotion and confidence in him, for\nwho but a man God-sustained could have borne so meekly all this pain,\ninsult, ignominy and shame?\n\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXXII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nThis is the evening of the Great Day of the Feast, and the second day\nsince the ignominious execution of him whom we all believed to have\nbeen the Christ, the Son of the Blessed. Yet he still lies dead in the\ntomb! Alas, that one so good and noble and wise should have been a\ndeceiver! Henceforth I have no faith in goodness. I have wept till I\ncan weep no more.\n\nIt is now the close of the High Day of the Feast. The slanting rays of\nthe setting sun linger yet upon the gilded lances that terminate the\nlesser pinnacles of the holy house of the Lord. The smoke of incense\ncurls lazily up from the sky from its unseen altar, and the deep voices\nof the choir of Levites, increased by those of the tens of thousands of\nJudah, who crowd all the courts of the Temple, fall upon my ears like\nmuffled thunder. I never heard anything so solemn. Above the Temple has\nhung, since the crucifixion yesterday, the cloud of the smoke of the\nsacrifices, and it immovably depends over all the city like a pall.\nThe sun does not penetrate it, though its light falls upon the earth\noutside of the city, but all Jerusalem remains in shadow. This cloud\nis a fearful sight, and all men have been watching it and talking of\nit and wondering. It seems to be in the form of black, gigantic wings,\nspreading a league broad over Jerusalem.\n\nThere it now hangs, visible from my window, but we are in some sort\nused to its dreadful presence and cease to fear; but we are lost in\nwonder. This morning when a high wind arose, blowing from the Great\nSea eastward, every one expected and hoped to see the cloud sail away\nbefore it in the direction of the desert. But the only effect the wind\nproduced was to agitate its whole surface in tumultuous billows, while\nthe mass still retained its position above the city. The shadow it\ncasts is supernatural and fearful, like the dread obscurity which marks\nan eclipse of the sun.\n\nAnd this reminds me, my dear father, to mention what, in the\nmultiplicity of subjects that rush to my pen for expression, I have\nomitted to state to you; and what is unaccountable unless men have, in\ntruth, crucified in Jesus the very Son of God. At the time of his death\nthe sun disappeared from the mid-heavens, and darkness, like that of\nnight, followed over all the earth, so that the stars became visible,\nand the hills on which Jerusalem stands shook as if an earthquake had\nmoved them, and many houses were thrown down; and where the dead are\nburied outside of the city, the earth and rocks were rent, tombs broken\nup, and many bodies of the dead were heaved to the surface and exposed\nto all eyes! These bodies have lain all to-day, for the Jews dare not\ntouch them to re-bury them for fear of being defiled. All this is\nfearful and unaccountable. It is known, too, that as Jesus expired, the\nvail of the Temple was rent in twain and exposed the Holy of Holies to\nevery common gaze! What will be the end of these things is known only\nto the God of Abraham. Never was so fearful a Passover before. Men's\nfaces are pale and all look as though some dread calamity had befallen\nthe nation.\n\nMy last letter, my dear father, closed with the termination of the\nexamination of Jesus before Caiaphas.\n\nGuarded by \u00c6milius, who was his true friend to the last, he was led to\nthe house of Pilate.\n\nThe Pretorian gates were shut by the Roman guards as the tumultuous\ncrowd advanced, for Pilate believed the Jews were in insurrection, and\nwas prepared to defend his palace; for so few are the troops with him\nin the city that he has for some weeks held only the name of power\nrather than the reality. But when \u00c6milius explained to the captain\nof the guard that the Jews desired to accuse Jesus, the Nazarene, of\nsedition before the Procurator, he was admitted, with the chief men\nof the city, into the outer court of Antiochus, and at their call\nPilate came forth to them. When he saw the vast concourse of people\nwith Caiaphas and the chief priests, and many rich Sadducees, with\nthe leading men of Jerusalem in the advance, and Jesus, bound and\ndisfigured by the insults he had undergone, and \u00c6milius and his few\nsoldiers enclosing him with their protecting spears, and heard the\nloud voices of the multitude, as of wolves baying for the blood of a\ndefenceless lamb, he stood with amazement for a few moments surveying\nthe scene.\n\n\"What means this, \u00c6milius?\" he demanded of the young Prefect. \"Who is\nthis captive?\"\n\n\"It is Jesus, called the Christ, my lord, the Prophet of Galilee. The\nJews desire his death, accusing him of blaspheming their God, and--\"\n\n\"But I have no concern with their religion or the worship of their God.\nLet them judge him after their own way,\" said Pilate, indifferently,\nand with an indolent air.\n\n\"But, most noble Roman,\" said Caiaphas, advancing to the portico on\nwhich the Procurator stood, \"by our law he should suffer death, and\nthou knowest, though we can condemn, as we now have done this Galilean,\nwe have no power to execute sentence of death.\"\n\n\"This is well said; but would you have me put one of your nation to\ndeath for blaspheming your God? So far as that is concerned, O priest,\"\nadded Pilate, smiling contemptuously, \"we Romans blaspheme him daily,\nfor we worship him not and will have naught to do with your faith. Let\nthe man go! I see no cause of death in him!\"\n\nHe then spoke to \u00c6milius, and desired him to lead Jesus to the spot\nwhere he stood. Pilate regarded him with mingled pity and interest.\nAfter surveying him a moment, he turned to one of his officers and said\naside: \"A form divine and fit for Apollo, or any of the greater gods!\nHis bearing is like a hero! Mehercule! The chisel of Praxiteles nor of\nPhidias ne'er traced the outlines of limbs and neck like these. He is\nthe very incarnation of human symmetry and dignity!\"\n\nThe courtiers nodded assent to these cool criticisms of the indolent\nand voluptuous Italian. Jesus, in the meanwhile, stood motionless\nbefore his judge, his eyes downcast and full of a holy sadness, and his\nlips compressed with immovable patience. Pilate now turned to him and\nsaid:\n\n\"Thou art, then, that Jesus of whom men talk so widely. Men say, O\nJesus, that thou art wiser than ordinary men; that thou canst do works\nof necromancy and art skilled in the subtle mysteries of astrology. I\nwould question thee upon these things. Wilt thou read my destiny for me\nin the stars? If thou answerest well I will befriend thee, and deliver\nthee from thy countrymen who seem to howl for thy blood.\"\n\n\"My lord!\" cried Caiaphas, furiously, \"thou must not let this man go!\nHe is a deceiver and traitor to C\u00e6sar. I charge him and formally accuse\nhim, before thy tribunal, with making himself king of Judea!\"\n\nTo this the whole multitude assented, in one deep voice of rage and\nfierce denunciation that shook the very walls of the Pretorium.\n\n\"What sayest thou?\" demanded Pilate, \"art thou a king? Methinks\nif thou wert such, these Jews have little need to fear thee.\" And\nthe Roman cast a careless glance over the mean and torn apparel and\nhalf-naked limbs of the Prophet.\n\nBefore Jesus could reply, which he seemed about to do, there was heard\na sudden commotion in the lower part of the court of Gabbatha, and a\nloud, hoarse voice was heard crying:\n\n\"Make way! Give back! He is innocent!\"\n\nAll eyes turned in the direction of the archway, when a man was seen\nforcing his path towards the door of the Judgment Hall, in front of\nwhich Pilate was standing, with Jesus a step or two below.\n\n\"What means this madman?\" cried the Procurator. \"Some of you arrest\nhim!\"\n\n\"I am not mad! He is innocent! I have betrayed the innocent blood!\"\ncried Iscariot, for it was he, leaping into the space in front of the\nportico. \"Take back thy money, and let this holy Prophet of God go\nfree! I swear to you by the altar he is innocent, and if thou harm him\nthou wilt be accursed with the vengeance of Jehovah! Take back thy\nsilver, for he is innocent!\"\n\n\"What is that to us? See thou to that!\" answered Abner the priest,\nhaughtily, while the eyes of Caiaphas, falling under the withering\nglance of the Roman Procurator, betrayed his guilt.\n\n\"Wilt thou not release him if I give thee back the pieces?\" cried\nJudas, in accents of despair, taking Caiaphas by the mantle and then\nkneeling to him imploringly.\n\nBut Caiaphas angrily shook him off. At last, in a frenzied manner, he\nthrew himself at the knees of Jesus, and cried in the most thrilling\naccents:\n\n\"Oh, Master! Master! Thou hast the power! Release thyself!\"\n\n\"No, Judas,\" answered the Prophet, shaking his head and gazing down\ncompassionately upon his betrayer, and without one look of resentment\nat his having betrayed him, \"mine hour is come! For this hour I came\ninto the world!\"\n\n\"I believed surely thou wouldst not suffer thyself to be arrested. It\nis my avarice that hath slain thee! Oh, God! Oh, God! I see now it is\ntoo late!\" Thus crying in a voice of despair, he arose and rushed, with\nhis face hid in his cloak, forth from the presence of all, towards the\nouter gate.\n\nThis extraordinary interruption produced a startling effect upon all\npresent, and a few moments elapsed before Pilate could resume his\nexamination of Jesus, which he did by entering the Judgment Hall and\ntaking his seat on the throne. He then repeated his question, but with\nmore deference than before: \"Art thou a king, then?\"\n\n\"Thou sayest that which I am--a king,\" Jesus answered, with a dignity\ntruly regal in its bearing; for all the time, bound and marred as he\nwas by the hands of his enemies, pale with suffering and with standing\na sleepless and fearful night upon his feet, exposed to cold and to\ninsults, yet he had a kingly air, and there seemed to float about his\nhead a divine glory, as if a sunbeam had been shining down upon him.\n\n\"Thou thyself hearest him!\" exclaimed Caiaphas, standing upon the\nthreshold of the Judgment Hall of the Gentile governor, which he would\nnot enter for fear of defilement.\n\n\"He has everywhere publicly proclaimed that he has been ordained of God\nto re-establish the kingdom of Judah and overthrow the power of C\u00e6sar\nin Jerusalem,\" added the governor of the Temple, lifting his voice so\nas to be heard above the voices of the priests and scribes, who, all\nspeaking together, vehemently accused him of many other things.\n\nPilate at length obtained comparative silence, and then said to Jesus:\n\n\"Hearest thou these accusations? Hast thou no answer to make? Behold\nhow many things they witness against thee!\"\n\nPilate spoke as if he had taken a deep interest in Jesus, and would\ngive him an opportunity of defending himself.\n\n\"He hath perverted the nation; a most pestilent and dangerous fellow!\"\nexclaimed Caiaphas. \"He is a blasphemer above all men!\"\n\n\"I have nothing to do with your religion. If he hath blasphemed your\ngods, take ye him and judge him according to your laws,\" answered\nPilate.\n\n\"Thou knowest, O noble Roman, that we have no power to execute to the\ndeath, therefore do we accuse him before thee.\"\n\n\"I am no Jew, priest! What care I for your domestic and religious\nquarrels? He hath done nothing that I can learn for which the laws of\nImperial Rome, which now prevail here, can adjudge him to death. I,\ntherefore, command his release.\"\n\nUpon this the Jews sent up a cry of unmingled ferocity and\nvindictiveness. Caiaphas, forgetting his fear of defilement, advanced\nseveral steps into the Judgment Hall, and shaking his open hands at\nPilate, cried:\n\n\"If thou lettest this man go, thou art not C\u00e6sar's friend. Thou art\nin league with him. He that sets himself up as a king in all the wide\nbounds of C\u00e6sar's dominions, wars against C\u00e6sar, as well at Jerusalem\nas at Rome. If thou release this man, I and my nation will accuse thee\nto thy master, Tiberius, of favoring this Galilean's sedition.\"\n\nWhen Pilate heard the name of Galilee, he asked if the prisoner were\na Galilean. Upon being answered in the affirmative by the excited\npriests, he said to \u00c6milius:\n\n\"Hold! Loose not his bonds just now! Herod, the Tetrarch of Galilee,\nlast night came up to the Passover feast of the Hebrew God, and is now\nat the old Maccabean Palace, with his retinue. Conduct your prisoner to\nhim, and let Herod judge his own subjects!\"\n\nThe chief priests and scribes now shouted with approbation at this\ndecision, for they began to fear that Pilate would release Jesus, and\nthey knew that the vacillating and reckless Herod would do whatsoever\nwould gain popular applause.\n\n\"To Herod! To the Tetrarch of Galilee with him!\" arose the cry.\n\nBut Caiaphas, frowning and dissatisfied, remained behind; and Pilate,\nglad to get rid of the delicate affair of condemning an innocent man,\nsmilingly came out and spoke to the gloomy High Priest:\n\n\"Thou knowest I can condemn men only for crimes committed against the\nlaws of the empire. This Jesus hath done nothing worthy of death.\"\n\n\"Noble Governor,\" answered Caiaphas, stopping in his angry strides up\nand down the porphyry floor of the outer portico, \"thou forgettest that\nI brought him not before thee on this charge of blasphemy alone, but\nfor sedition! By the altar of God, this is a crime known to thy laws, I\nwot!\"\n\n\"True. You charge a young, defenceless, quiet, powerless man, destitute\nof money, men or arms, an obscure fisherman or carpenter of Galilee,\nwith setting up a throne and kingdom against that of Tiberius C\u00e6sar,\nthe ruler of the earth! The idea is absurd! It should be treated only\nwith ridicule. So will Herod say, when he understands the affair.\"\n\n\"So will not C\u00e6sar say, my lord!\" answered Caiaphas, with a sneer upon\nhis curled lip. \"If you let this man go, the Jewish nation will draw\nup a memorial, accusing you to the emperor of protecting treason.\nYou will be summoned by the senate to answer the charge; and though\nyou should succeed in clearing yourself, you will have lost your\ngovernment, given to another, and for your fair name, you will live,\never after, under C\u00e6sar's suspicion.\"\n\nPilate turned pale, and bit his lips with vexation.\n\n\"My lord priest, thou art bent, I see, on this innocent man's death.\nI am no Jew, to understand how he has drawn upon himself thy terrible\nwrath and that of thy nation. I will see what Herod will say, who,\nbeing a Jew, is familiar with your customs.\"\n\nPilate now reseated himself upon his throne to give hearing to other\ncomplaints.\n\nAfter the lapse of half an hour a youth threw himself from his horse,\nat the door of the court, and drew near the Procurator.\n\n\"What aileth thee, Alexander?\" demanded Pilate, on seeing blood on his\ntemples and that he seemed faint.\n\n\"But a trifle now, my lord. I was thrown from my horse, who was\nstartled at a burning torch lying on the ground, and was detained at a\nhospitable house until I was able to remount, which brings me hither\nlate.\"\n\n\"And why come at all? What news sends my fair wife, that she should\ndespatch you from my house in Bethany at this early hour? No evil\ntidings, boy?\"\n\n\"None, my lord, save this note.\"\n\nThe Greek page then handed his master a small roll of parchment, tied\nwith scarlet thread. He cut the knot with his dagger and reading the\ncontents became deadly pale. Caiaphas watched him closely, as if he\nwould read, reflected in his eyes, the contents of the note which had\nso deeply moved him.\n\n\"Caiaphas,\" said the Procurator, \"this prisoner must be released!\"\n\n[Illustration: JESUS BEFORE PILATE.]\n\n\"It is either his destruction, proud Roman, or thine!\" answered the\nHigh Priest, turning and walking haughtily away.\n\nPilate looked after him with a troubled air, and then re-entered the\nHall of Judgment, and seating himself upon his throne, again read the\nparchment.\n\n\"'Have nothing to do with this just man,' he read half aloud, 'for I\nhave suffered many things this day in a dream because of him!' The very\ngods seem to take sides with this extraordinary young prisoner!\" he\nexclaimed. \"Would to Jove that Herod may have sense enough to release\nhim and relieve me of this unpleasant business.\"\n\nWhile he was yet speaking and musing with himself, unconsciously\naloud, there was heard a great noise of voices in the direction of\nthe Maccabean Palace, and as it grew nearer and more distinct, Pilate\nstarted up and cried:\n\n\"It is as I feared--Herod gives them no satisfaction and they come\nagain to me! Oh, that the gods would give me wisdom and nerve for this\ntrying hour, so that I condemn not the innocent nor bring myself into\nthe power of an accusation to C\u00e6sar from these wicked Jews!\"\n\nAt this moment the multitude, increased if it were possible in numbers\nand in vindictiveness, reappeared, pressing Jesus before them. This\ntime he was alone, \u00c6milius having been separated from him in the palace\nand kept by the crowd from rejoining him. He was now unbound, and upon\nhis head was a crown of thorns, piercing the tender temples till the\nblood trickled all down his face; upon his shoulders was clasped an old\npurple robe, once worn by Herod in his state of petty king, and his\nhand held a reed as a scepter; and as he walked along, the bitterest\namong the priests, as well as the vilest of the common fellows,\nmockingly bent the knee before him, crying:\n\n\"Hail, King Jesus! Hail, royal Nazarene! All hail!\"\n\nOthers went before him carrying mock standards, while still others\nacting as heralds ran shouting:\n\n\"Make way for the King of the Jews! Do homage, all men, to C\u00e6sar! This\nis the great Tiberius, Emperor of Nazareth! Behold his glittering\ncrown! Mark his royal robes and see his dazzling sceptre! Bend the\nknee, bend the knee, men of Judah, before your king!\"\n\nWhen Pilate saw this spectacle and heard these words, he trembled and\nwas heard to say:\n\n\"Either this man or I must perish! These Jews are become madmen with\nrage and demand a sacrifice. One of us must fall!\"\n\nOh, that I could write all I feel! But I am compelled, my dear father,\nto end here.\n\n                                          Your affectionate child,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXXIII.\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nIn this letter will be continued my account of the trial, if such it\ncan be called, of Jesus.\n\nJohn, the faithful and yet trusting disciple whom Jesus loved, still\nkept near his captive Master, and sought to cheer him by affectionate\nlooks and, where he could do it with safety, by kind acts. More than\nonce he was rudely thrust aside by the fiercer Jews, and once several\nmen seized upon him and would have done him violence, if Caiaphas,\nto whom John is remotely related and who knows him well, had not\ninterposed. And while John was thus doing all that he could to soften\nthe asperity of his friend's treatment, we at home were exerting\nourselves to soothe the maternal solicitude of Mary of Nazareth, his\nnoble and heartbroken mother.\n\nHerod, the Tetrarch of Galilee, was breaking his fast with fruit and\nwine, at a table overlooking by a window the Street of the Gentiles,\nwhen the noise of the advancing thousands of the Jews reached his ear.\nHe started from the table and said:\n\n\"These people are surely up in insurrection against Pilate!\"\n\n\"No, great prince,\" answered the lad Abel, his cupbearer, who is\nrelated to John, and has told me many of these things. \"They have taken\nthe Nazarene Prophet, Jesus, and are trying him for sedition.\"\n\n\"This uproar proceeds from no trial, but from a wild mob in motion, and\nthey seem to be approaching,\" was his answer to him.\n\nAs Herod spoke he went to the lattice of his basilica, and beheld the\nhead of the multitude just emerging into the street.\n\n\"There are spears and Romans in the van, and I see priests and peasants\nmixed together. I now see the cause of all the tumult--a mere youth,\nbound and soiled and pale as marble. What, sirs! this is not the great\nProphet, of whose fame I have heard?\" he said, turning to his officers.\n\"What mean they by bringing him hither? Yet, Per Baccho! I am glad to\nget a sight of him!\"\n\nThe crowd, like the swelling Nile, flowed towards the gates, roaring\nand chafing like its mighty cataracts, so that there was something\nfearfully sublime in this display of the power of human passions.\n\u00c6milius with difficulty succeeded in getting his prisoner into the\npiazza of the palace.\n\n\"Most royal prince,\" said \u00c6milius, kneeling before Herod and presenting\na signet, \"I am sent by his excellency, Pontius Pilate, the Roman\nProcurator of Judea, to bring before you this person accused of\nblasphemy. Ignorant of your customs and faith, the Governor desires\nthat you, who are of his nation, would examine him; and moreover,\nPilate, learning that he is a Galilean and a subject of your\njurisdiction, courteously declines interfering with your authority.\"\n\nWhen Herod Antipas heard delivered so courteous a message from the\nProcurator, with whom he had been some time at enmity, he was pleased.\n\n\"Say thou, Sir Knight, to his excellency, the most noble and princely\nGovernor of Judea, that I appreciate his extraordinary civility,\nand that nothing will give me more pleasure, in return for such\ndistinguished courtesy, than to be considered by him his friend, and\nthat I regret any occurrence that has hitherto estranged us.\"\n\n\u00c6milius, upon receiving this answer, arose and bowed, and then said\nwith the boldness which characterizes him:\n\n\"Most gracious and royal Tetrarch, I pray you heed not the charges of\nthese Jews touching this prisoner. They have conceived against him a\nbitter hatred without just cause. He has done nothing worthy of death.\nPilate could find nothing whatsoever in him deserving of the attention\nof the dignity of a Roman tribunal.\"\n\n\"Let the prisoner fear not,\" answered Herod, at the same time regarding\nJesus attentively as he stood before him in the calm majesty of\ninnocence. \"I will not take Pilate's prerogative of judgment out of his\nhand, so handsomely tendered to me. If he hath blasphemed--Mehercule!\nthe High Priest and priests of the Temple itself,\" he added, laughing,\n\"do that every day of their lives, for religion is at a low ebb among\nthe hypocritical knaves! I have nothing to do with their charge of\nblasphemy, or I would have them all stoned to death without mercy. I\nwill first see some miracles wrought by thy far-famed prisoner, noble\n\u00c6milius, and then send him back to my illustrious friend Pontius, whom\nhis gods prosper in all things.\"\n\nHerod, then, fixing his eyes curiously upon Jesus, who had stood\nsilently before him, seemingly the only unmoved person in the vast\nconcourse, said to the soldiers:\n\n\"Unbind him! By the staff of Jacob, he hath been roughly handled! Men\nof Israel, it becomes not such as you to do violence to a man before he\nis condemned.\"\n\nWhile he was speaking John arranged Jesus' mantle about his form.\nHerod regarded with interest and looks of compassion, the pale and\ndivinely-serene countenance of the prisoner, and seemed struck with the\nindescribable majesty of his aspect and bearing.\n\n\"Art thou the Nazarene Jesus, of whom I have heard so much?\" he asked\nin deferential tones.\n\n\"I am he,\" was the quiet answer.\n\n\"Then gladly do I meet thee, for I have long time desired to see thee;\nand I would fain behold thee do some miracles. Does rumor belie thy\npowers? What! art thou silent? Dost thou not know who it is that speaks\nto thee? Come hither, fellow!\" he called to a Samaritan muleteer who\nstood in the crowd, whose oval face and Jewish eyes showed him to\nbe both of Assyrian and Israelitish descent, and whose arm had been\ntaken off by a sword in a contest with Barabbas and his robbers; \"come\nhither, and let this Prophet prove his power and mission by restoring\nthy arm whole like as the other!\"\n\nThe man alertly came forward, and all eyes were directed eagerly upon\nhim and upon Jesus; but he thrust the stump of his arm, by Herod's\norder, in vain before Jesus. The eyes of the Prophet moved not from\ntheir meditative look upon the ground.\n\n\"Art thou mocking us, thou false Christ?\" cried the Tetrarch angrily.\n\"Wilt thou neither speak nor act? If thou art not an impostor, do a\nmiracle before us all, and we will believe in thee!\"\n\nJesus remained motionless, yet preserved a firm and majestic\ncountenance.\n\n\"He is a deceiver! He performed his works through Beelzebub, who has\nnow deserted him!\" cried the priests.\n\n\"Nazarene,\" said Herod, \"I am a Jew also. If thou wilt prove to me by a\nsign that I will name, that thou art the Christ, I will not only become\nthy follower, but will let thee go free. Thy silence is an insult to my\npower. Thou seest yonder marble statue of Judas Maccabeus. Command the\nsword in its hand to wave thrice above its helmeted head, and I will\nbend the knee to thee. Nay, wilt not? I will give thee then, something\neasier to do. Seest thou the carved pomegranates in the entablature of\nthe wall? Bid the one which hangs over this column become ripe, natural\nfruit, and fall at my feet. No?\"\n\n\"He has no power--his friend Beelzebub hath given him up into our\nhands! Death to the necromancer!\" were the terrible words which now\nmade the hall tremble.\n\n\"See the whirlwind thou hast raised, O Nazarene!\" cried Herod, rising.\n\"If thou art a prophet, no harm can they do thee; and if thou art an\nimpostor, if they kill thee thou deservest thy fate! I give thee up\ninto their hands! Save thyself, if thou be the Christ!\"\n\nScarcely had Herod spoken these words, relinquishing Jesus into the\nhands of his foes, than with a savage cry, as the famished jackals in\nthe desert rush upon their prey, they rushed upon their victim. \u00c6milius\ncould not protect him; nay, some of Herod's soldiers, whom the Jews\nhad half intoxicated with wine, joined them as soon as they saw their\nmaster Antipas had cast him off, and began to scoff and mock him, and\none of them thrust a helmet on his head and pulled the visor down over\nhis eyes.\n\n\"Nay,\" said Herod on seeing this. \"As he calls himself a king, remove\nthe helmet and crown him, and robe him royally, and place a sceptre in\nhis hand; and lo, yonder block will make him a proper throne! We must\nshow Pilate how we Jews serve men who usurp the power of his master,\nC\u00e6sar!\"\n\nOne of his men of war brought a cast-off robe of purple which belonged\nto Herod and, with loud shouts of laughter and coarse jests, they robed\nhim in it, unresisting as the lamb wreathed for the sacrifice. Some\none then twined the creeping thorn, which grew on the outer wall, and,\ntwisting it into the shape of a crown, handed it over the heads of the\nmen to Abner.\n\nWhen Abner saw the crown he smiled with malicious gratification and,\nnodding approvingly to the man said:\n\n\"This is what we needed! Nothing could have done better!\" and with his\ntwo hands he placed it upon the head of Jesus, pressing cruelly the\nsharp thorns into his temples till the blood trickled from a dozen\nwounds. Jesus made no complaint, but the pain forced large bright tears\nfrom his eyes, which rolled down his cheeks and fell among the purple\nrobe like glittering pearls.\n\n\"Here is also a sceptre for our king!\" exclaimed the Samaritan with\none arm, using the one to reach a piece of reed, from which a Passover\nlamb had been slung, to those who were arraying Jesus. This was thrust\ninto the Prophet's grasp, and he held it patiently. His submission,\nhis silence, his endurance of pain, his constant dignity, and the\nmajestic submission which he seemed to manifest to all their insults\nand tortures, brought tears into the eyes of \u00c6milius. Even Herod stood\namazed at such God-like forbearance, and said to his chief captain:\n\n\"If this man is not the Son of God, he is worthy to be deified! Such\nsublime patience is more than human--it is divine! You Romans, \u00c6milius,\nwould make a hero of such a man, and when he died worship him as a god!\"\n\n\"Then, mighty prince, why suffer him to be thus treated?\" asked \u00c6milius.\n\n\"It is his own choice. I have entreated him fairly. I asked of him but\none of those miracles men say he works, as proof of his Messiahship,\nand he works me none--shows me no sign. The inference is that he can do\nnone, and therefore he is an impostor.\"\n\n\"Most royal prince,\" said Abner aloud, \"thou now beholdest the King of\nthe Jews, crowned, robed and sceptred!\" and he pointed to Jesus.\n\n\"Hail! most puissant and potent sovereign of Galilee! Hail! King of\nfishermen!\" cried Herod, mocking him, and seemingly greatly amused at\nthe jest. \"Hail! powerful king! What, fellows, men-at-arms and all ye\ngapers! bend ye not the knee before this royal personage? Do homage to\nyour king!\"\n\nUpon this many who were around him kneeled, and some mockingly even\nprostrated themselves before the Prophet; but he stood so very like a\nmonarch that others, who were about to mock him, refrained, while Herod\nturned away with a troubled look, saying abruptly:\n\n\"Take him back to the Procurator!\"\n\nOnce more the vast multitude were in motion, and with cries and insults\nescorted Jesus from the presence of Herod back to the Pretorium.\n\nWhen Pilate beheld their return in this manner he was greatly vexed.\nWhen once more Jesus stood before him, arrayed as I have described in\nthe gorgeous robe and crown, Pilate, turning towards Caiaphas and the\npriests, said angrily:\n\n\"What more will ye have? Why bring this man again before me? Behold, I\nhave examined him before you and have found no fault in him. Ye proved\nnothing by your witnesses touching those things whereof ye accuse him.\nI then sent you with him to Herod, and lo! the Tetrarch of Galilee, one\nof your own nation, finds naught in him worthy of death! Doubtless he\nhas said something about not paying tribute, and deserves for this a\nlight punishment, but not death. I will chastise him, charge him that\nhe be more cautious, and let him go.\"\n\n\"If thou let this man go, thou art an enemy of Tiberius!\" answered\nCaiaphas. \"Seest thou what a commotion he has raised in the city? If he\nis released there will be a revolution.\"\n\n\"In the name of Olympian Jove, O Nazarene, what hast thou done to\nincense these Jews? If thou art their king, prove it to them or to me,\"\ndemanded Pilate, greatly troubled.\n\n\"My kingdom is not of the earth,\" answered Jesus. \"If my kingdom were\nan earthly one, then would my servants fight, that I should not be\ndelivered to the Jews; but my kingdom is not of this world.\"\n\n\"Then thou confessest thyself a king?\" exclaimed Pilate, with surprise.\n\n\"Thou sayest that which I am--a King. To this end was I born, and for\nthis cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the\ntruth.\"\n\n\"Truth? What is truth?\" asked the Roman; but, without waiting for Jesus\nto reply, and seeing that the Jews outside of the hall were becoming\nmore and more impatient, he hurriedly went out to them and said:\n\n\"I find in the prisoner no fault at all. But ye have a custom that I\nshould at the Passover pardon a criminal out of prison, as an act of\nclemency, in honor of the day. Will ye, therefore, that I pardon and\nrelease unto you this 'King of the Jews'?\"\n\nNo sooner had Pilate made this proposal than they all with one voice\nand furious gestures cried:\n\n\"No! No! Not this man! We will not have him released!\"\n\n\"Barabbas! Barabbas!\" was echoed and re-echoed by ten thousand voices.\n\nThis Barabbas, dear father, is the same fierce bandit of whom I have\nspoken, who was that day to have been crucified, with two of his\nlieutenants. But, at the loud demand of the people, Pilate was forced\nto send to the officer of the wards to let him go free.\n\nPilate, therefore, finding that the Jews would be content with nothing\nless than the blood of Jesus, returned sorrowfully into the Judgment\nHall.\n\nThe residue of my narrative of the condemnation and crucifixion, I will\ngive in the morning, dear father.\n\n                                             Your loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXXIV.\n\n\nMy Dearest Father:\n\nJesus had from very weakness sunk upon the steps of the throne of the\nHall of Judgment. John knelt by him, bathing the wounds in his temples,\nfrom off which he had boldly taken the crown of thorns. When Pilate,\nafter giving the order to release the robber chief Barabbas, came again\nwhere Jesus was, he stopped and regarded him attentively, and with an\nexpression of sorrow and admiration. At length he spoke:\n\n\"If thou be indeed a god, O heroic young man, as thy patience would\nseem to prove thee to be, thou needest not to fear these bloodhounds,\nthat bay so fiercely for thy blood. If thou art an impostor and a\nseditionist, thou verily meritest death. I regard thee but as a\nyouthful enthusiast, and would let thee go free; but I cannot protect\nthee. If I release thee, not only thou, but also all my troops, will be\nmassacred, for we are but a handful in their grasp. Tell me truly, art\nthou a son of the divine Jupiter?\"\n\nWhen Jesus, instead of replying, remained silent, the Procurator said\nsternly:\n\n\"What! speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to\ncrucify thee as a malefactor, and power, if I choose to meet the risk,\nto release thee?\"\n\nJesus looked up and calmly said:\n\n\"Thou couldst have no power against me except it were given thee from\nabove. Therefore he that delivered me into thy hands hath the greater\nsin!\"\n\nAnd as Jesus said these words in an impressive tone, he glanced fixedly\nat Caiaphas, who was looking in at the door, as if designating the High\nPriest. Upon this Pilate pressed his hands against his forehead and\npaced several times to and fro before the judgment seat, as if greatly\ntroubled. Caiaphas, seeing his irresolution, cried harshly:\n\n\"If thou lettest this self-styled king go, O Governor, thou art not\nC\u00e6sar's friend!\"\n\nPilate's brow grew dark. He took Jesus by the hand, and leading him to\nthe portal, pointed to him, and said aloud:\n\n\"Behold your king! What will you that I should do with him? Looks he\nlike a man to be feared?\"\n\n\"We have no king but C\u00e6sar!\"\n\n\"Crucify him!\"\n\n\"To the cross with the false prophet!\"\n\n\"Death to the usurper! Long live C\u00e6sar! Death to the Nazarene! To the\ncross! To the cross with him! Let him be crucified!\"\n\nThese were the various cries from ten thousand throats that responded\nto the Procurator's address. Remembering the warning message sent him\nby his young and beautiful wife, who held great influence over him, he\ntrembled with indecision.\n\n\"Why will you compel me to crucify an innocent man? What evil hath he\ndone?\"\n\n\"Crucify him! Crucify him!\" was the deafening response.\n\n\"I will chastise him and let him go!\"\n\n\"At your peril release him, O Roman!\" exclaimed Caiaphas, in a menacing\ntone. \"Either he or you must die this day for the people! Blood must\nflow to appease this tempest!\"\n\nWhen the Procurator saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather\nthe tumult increased, he called for water, which was brought to him\nin a basin by his page, and in the presence of the whole multitude he\nwashed his hands, saying:\n\n\"I am innocent of the blood of this just person! See ye to it, O Jews,\nye and your High Priest!\"\n\n\"His blood be upon us, and on our children!\" answered Caiaphas; and all\nthe people re-echoed his language.\n\n\"Ay, on us and on our children rest the guilt of his blood!\"\n\n\"Be it so,\" answered the Procurator, with a dark brow and face as pale\nas the dead. \"Take ye him and crucify him; and may the God he worships\njudge you, not me, for this day's deed!\"\n\nPilate then turned away from them and said to Jesus:\n\n\"Thou art, I feel, an innocent man, but thou seest that I cannot save\nthee! I know thou wilt forgive me, and that death can have no terrors\nfor one of fortitude like thine!\"\n\nJesus made him no answer; and Pilate, turning from him with a sad\ncountenance walked slowly away and left the Judgment Hall. As he did so\none of his captains said to him:\n\n\"Shall I scourge him, my lord, according to the Roman law, which\ncommands all who are sentenced to die to be scourged?\"\n\n\"Do as the law commands,\" answered the weak-minded Roman.\n\nHis disappearance was the signal for a general rush towards Jesus,\nchiefly by the rabble, who, indifferent about Gentile defilement,\ncrossed the threshold into the hall, which the chief priests had\nrefrained from doing. These base fellows seized Jesus and, aided by the\nmen-at-arms, dragged him forth into the outer or common hall. Here they\nstripped him, and, by order of the chief captain, a soldier scourged\nhim with forty stripes, save one.\n\nAll this Jesus still bore with God-like majesty. Not a murmur escaped\nhis lips; not a glance of resentment kindled the holy depths of his\neyes, which, from time to time, were uplifted to heaven, as if he\nsought for help and strength from thence.\n\nNot only \u00c6milius but John was now separated from him; but my uncle, the\nRabbi stood near, in order to see what would follow, and to use his\ninfluence, if possible, to induce the chief priests to abandon the idea\nof killing him.\n\n\"Good Rabbi,\" said Jesus to him, \"let them do with me what they list.\nMy Father hath given me into their hands. I die, but not for myself. I\ncan keep or yield up my life, as I will.\"\n\n\"Oh, then, dear Master!\" cried my uncle, \"why not save thyself? Why\nshouldst thou suffer all this, and death also, if thou hast the power\nover thy life?\"\n\n\"If I die not, then were ye all dead. The Scripture must be fulfilled\nwhich spoke of me. 'He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.'\"\n\nHere Rabbi Amos could speak no more to him, for the crowd dragged him\noff out of the Court of Gabbatha, and so down the steep street in the\ndirection of the gate of the kings that leads out to Calvary, the\npublic place of execution.\n\nRabbi Amos accompanied the multitude, keeping as nigh to Jesus as the\nRoman soldiers, who marched on each side of him, would permit. On the\nway, as they crossed the open space where once stood the palace and\nstatue of Antiochus Seleucus, the eyes of the Rabbi were attracted by\nthe cries and pointed fingers of many of the people to the body of a\nman lying dead at the foot of a withered fig tree. Upon drawing nearer,\nhe recognized the features of the man Judas, who had so basely betrayed\nhis Master. The spectacle which he exhibited was revolting and horrid\nto look upon! About his neck was wound a fragment of his girdle, the\nother half being still secured to a limb of the tree, showing how he\nhad met his fate.\n\nBy this time the people who were dragging Jesus to death were got well\nbeyond the gate, when a cross of heavy cypress was obtained by the\ncenturion from a yard near the lodge. Two others were also brought out,\nand laid upon the shoulders of two men, the lieutenants of Barabbas,\nwho were also that day to be crucified.\n\nBy the time the great crowd had passed the gate, it was known\nthroughout all Jerusalem that Pilate had given orders for the\ncrucifixion of the Nazarene Prophet; and, with one mind, all who had\nknown him and believed in him or loved him left their houses to go\nout after him to witness the crucifixion; for I forgot to say that\nCaiaphas had promised, if Jesus were delivered up, that his followers\nshould not be molested. Therefore every person went out of the gate\ntowards Calvary. Mary his mother, my Cousin Mary, Martha and her\nsister, Lazarus, John, Peter and Thomas, and some women, relatives\nfrom Galilee, and many others, also went. When we got without the\nwalls, we seemed to leave a deserted city behind us. As far as the eye\ncould embrace there was a countless multitude. Jesus was borne in\nfront, where we could now and then catch the gleam of a Roman spear.\nWe hastened to get near him and, with difficulty, made our way to the\nhead of the throng, both foes and friends giving back when they saw his\nweeping mother among us.\n\nAt the approach to Calvary we found that, from some cause, the course\nof the mighty current of human beings was checked. We soon learned the\nreason. Jesus had sunk to the ground under the weight of the wooden\nbeams on which he was to die, and fainted.\n\n\"He is dead!\" was the cry of those about him; but, as we drew near, he\nwas just reviving, some one having offered wine to his lips and poured\nwater upon his brow. He stood up, looking mildly around, when meeting\nhis mother's gaze, he said touchingly:\n\n\"Weep not, my mother! Remember what I have often told thee of this\nhour, and believe. Mine hour is come!\"\n\nThus speaking he smiled upon his mother and upon us, with a certain\nlook of divine peace illuminating his countenance.\n\nBarabbas, the robber chief, who had in some degree taken the lead of\nthe mob, now, with the aid of three men, raised the cross again to\nthe shoulders of Jesus, and the soldier ordered him to move on. But\nthe young victim sank at once beneath the insupportable load. Upon\nthis they were at a loss what to do, for it is ignominious for Jew or\nGentile to aid in bearing a malefactor's cross, and not a Roman would\ntouch it. At this crisis they discerned a Syro-Ph\u0153nician merchant,\nSimon of Cyrene, a venerable man, well known to all in Jerusalem. This\nman was for some reason particularly obnoxious to Abner, and, on seeing\nhim, he pointed him out to the centurion as \"one of the Nazarenes,\" and\nsuggested that he should be compelled to bear the cross after Jesus.\n\nThe Cyrenian merchant was at once dragged from his mule and led to\nthe place where the cross lay, believing he was about to be himself\nexecuted. But when he beheld Jesus standing, pale and bleeding, by the\nfallen cross, and knew what was required of him, he burst into tears\nand, kneeling at his feet, said:\n\n\"If they compel me to do this, Lord, think not that I aid thy death! I\nknow that thou art a prophet come from God.\"\n\n\"We brought thee not here to prate, old man, but to work. Thou art\nstrong-bodied. Up with this end of the cross and go on after him!\"\ncried the chief priests.\n\nSimon, who is a powerful man, though threescore years of age, raised\nthe extremity of the beam, and Jesus essayed to move under the weight\nof the other; but he failed.\n\n\"Let me bear it alone, Master,\" answered the stout Simon. \"I am the\nstronger. Thou hast enough to bear the weight of thine own sorrow. If\nit be a shame to bear a cross after thee, I glory in my shame, as would\nmy two sons, were they here this day.\"\n\nThus speaking, he lifted the cross and bore it on his shoulders after\nJesus, who, weak from loss of blood and sleep, and weary unto death,\nhad to lean for support against one arm of the instrument of death.\n\nAh, my dear father, what a place was this across which we moved!\nSkulls lay scattered beneath our footsteps, and everywhere human bones\nbleached in the air, and we trod in heaps of ashes where the Romans had\nburned the bodies of many of those whom they crucified.\n\nThe crosses carried by the thieves were now thrown down by them; by one\nwith an execration, by the other with a sigh, as he anticipated the\nanguish he was to suffer upon it.\n\nThe larger cross of the three was that for Jesus. It was taken by\nthree soldiers from the back of the old Cyrenian merchant and cast\nheavily upon the earth. It was now that a crisis approached of the\nmost painful interest. The centurion ordered his soldiers to clear\na circle about the place where the crosses were to be planted with\ntheir spears. The Jews who had crowded near, in eager thirst for their\nvictim's blood, gave back slowly and reluctantly before the sharp\npoints of the Roman lances pushed against their breasts, for the\ncenturion had with him full threescore men-at-arms, besides a part\nof Herod's guard. John, however, held his place close by his Master.\nHe relates that Jesus continued to evince the same sublime composure\nwhen the centurion commanded the crucifiers to advance and nail the\nmalefactors to their crosses. The robber-lieutenant, Ishmerai, who was\nan Edomite, upon seeing the man approach with the basket containing the\nspikes and hammers, scowled fiercely upon him and looked defiance. He\nwas instantly seized by four savage-looking Parthian soldiers of the\nRoman guard, and stripped and thrown upon his back upon the cross. His\nstruggles, for he was an athletic man, were so violent that it took six\npersons to keep him held down upon the arms of the cross and his palms\nspread open to receive the entering nail, which one of the crucifiers,\nwith naked and brawny arms, pressing one knee upon the wrist, drove in\nthrough the flesh and wood, by three quick and powerful blows with his\nshort, heavy-headed hammer.\n\nThus secured he was left, bleeding and writhing, by the six crucifiers;\nfor there are four to bind the victim, one to hold the spikes, and the\nsixth to drive them home with his hammer, and from the glance I caught\nof their half-naked and blood-stained figures, they were worthy to\nhold the dreadful office which made all men shun them as if they were\nleprous.\n\nThey now approached Omri, the other robber, who was a young man with\na mild look, and a face whose noble lineaments did not betray his\nprofession. He was the son of a wealthy citizen in Jericho, and had by\nriotous living, spent his patrimony and joined Barabbas. He had heard\nJesus preach in the wilderness of Jordan, and had once asked him with\ndeep interest many things touching the doctrines he taught.\n\nWhen the crucifiers, with their cords, basket, nails and iron hammer,\ndrew near him, he said:\n\n\"I will not compel you to throw me down. I can die as I have lived,\nwithout fear. As I have broken the laws, I am ready to suffer the\npenalty of the laws.\"\n\nThus speaking, he stretched himself upon his cross and, extending his\npalms along the transverse beam, he suffered them to nail him to the\nwood, uttering not a moan. He glanced towards Jesus at the same time\nwith an expression of courage, as if he sought to show him that the\npain could be borne by a brave man. And perhaps, indeed, Jesus looked\nas if he needed an heroic example before him to show him how to die\nwithout shrinking, for his cheek was like the marble of Paros in its\nwhiteness, and he seemed ready to drop to the earth from weakness. His\nyouth, his almost divine beauty, which not even his tangled hair and\ntorn beard and blood-streaked countenance could wholly hide, the air\nof celestial innocence that beamed from his eyes, drew upon him many\nglances of sympathy even from some of his foes. The centurion, who was\na tall man with a grizzly beard, and with the hardy exterior of an old\nRoman warrior, looked upon him with a sad gaze and said:\n\n\"I do not see what men hate thee for, for thou seemest more to be a\nman of love; but I must do my duty, and I hope thou wilt forgive me\nwhat I do. A soldier's honor is to obey.\"\n\nJesus smiled forgiveness upon him so sweetly that the stern Roman's\neyes filled with tears, and he placed his gauntleted hand to his face\nto conceal his emotion.\n\nBut, my dear father, I can go on no longer now with my sad narrative.\nI am weary weeping at the recollections it calls before me, and at\nour present affliction. In my next I will complete my account of the\nunhappy crucifixion of the Prophet of Nazareth.\n\n                                       Your affectionate daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXXV.\n\n_Jerusalem--Third Morning after the Crucifixion._\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nAs I resume my pen by the faint light of the dawn, to continue the\nparticulars of the crucifixion of the unhappy son of Mary, who, widowed\nand childless, still remains with us, mourning over her dead son, my\nheart involuntarily shrinks from the painful subject and bleeds afresh.\nBut there is a fascination associated with all that concerns him, even\nnow that he is dead and has proved himself as weak a mortal as other\nmen, which urges me to write of him and which fills my thoughts only\nwith him.\n\nI have just alluded to his grief-smitten mother. Alas, there is no\nconsolation for her! Her loss is not like that of other mothers.\nHer son has not only been taken from her by death, but has died\nignominiously on a Roman cross, executed between two vile malefactors,\nas if he himself were the greatest criminal of the three; and not only\nthis, but executed as a false prophet--as a deceiver of Israel.\n\nYet her love for her son--that deathless, maternal love, which seems\nimmortal in its nature--is not buried with him. She, with dearest Mary\nand Martha, has just gone out secretly, before the Jews are astir, to\npay the last duties to his dead body, ere we all depart for an asylum\nin Bethany. Until they return from this sad mission of love I will\ncontinue my subject--the crucifixion.\n\nWhen the centurion to whom was committed by Pilate the charge of\nconducting the crucifixion of Jesus, gave orders to bind him also to\nthe cross, which lay upon the ground like an altar awaiting its victim,\nthe four Parthian soldiers, his brutal crucifiers, laid hold upon him\nand began to strip him of his garments, for his enemies had put again\non him his own clothes when they led him out of the hall of Pilate. He\nwore a mantle woven without seam by Mary and Martha, and which had been\na present to him by the sisters, as a token of their gratitude, for\nraising from the dead their brother Lazarus.\n\nHis mother, supported by John, could no longer gaze upon her son, and\nwas borne afar off, crying thrillingly:\n\n\"Oh, let me not hear the crashing of the nails into his feet and hands!\nMy son! My son! Oh, that thou wouldst now prove to thy mother that thou\nart a true Prophet!\"\n\n\"What means this wailing?\" cried the fierce Abner. \"Who is this woman?\"\n\n\"The mother of Jesus,\" I answered, indignantly.\n\n\"The mother of the blasphemer! Let her be accursed!\" he cried, in a\nsavage tone. \"Thou seest, woman, what is the end of bringing up an\nimpostor, to blaspheme Jehovah and the Temple. Thy hopes and his, O\nwretched woman, have this day miserably perished! So die all false\nChrists and false prophets!\"\n\nMary buried her face in her hands and wept on my shoulder. I could not\nlook towards the place where Jesus stood. I dreaded to hear the first\nblow upon the dreadful nails, and as she stopped her ears I would have\nclosed mine also, but that my hands supported her. I could hear the\nawful preparations--the rattling of the hard cord, as they bound him\nto the cross, and the low, eager voices of the four busy Parthians,\nand then the ringing of the spikes, and then silence like that of the\ngrave! Suddenly a blow of a hammer broke the moment of suspense! A\nshriek burst from the soul of the mother that echoed far and wide among\nthe tombs of Golgotha!\n\nI could see, hear no more!\n\nJohn having left the stricken mother with me, he and Lazarus had gone\nback to where they were unrobing the Prophet in order to bind him to\nthe wood. They caught the eyes of their Master, said Lazarus, who\ngazed upon them calmly and affectionately. They said they had never\nbeheld him appear so majestic and great. He looked, as the centurion\nafterwards said, \"Like a god surrendering himself to death for the\nsafety of his universe!\"\n\n\"Nothing but the ferocious madness of the chief priests and Jews,\"\nadded John, \"could have prevented them from being awed by the majesty\nof his presence. And, besides, there sat upon his brow heroic courage,\nwith a certain divine humility and resignation. Not the rough hands\nof the barbaric soldiers, nor the indignity of being stripped before\nthe eyes of thousands, not the sight of the cross, nor of the thieves,\nnailed and writhing on theirs, moved him to depart, by look or bearing,\nfrom that celestial dignity which, through all, had never left him.\n\n\"He made no resistance,\" continued John, who told me what follows,\n\"when bound upon the cross, but resigned himself passively into the\nhands of his executioners, like a lamb receiving its death. 'Father,'\nhe said, raising his holy eyes to heaven, 'forgive them, for they know\nnot what they do.'\n\n\"Great drops of sweat, when they nailed his feet to the wood, stood\nupon his forehead,\" added John, who remained near to see his Master\ndie, and to comfort and strengthen him; \"and when the four men raised\nhim and the cross together from the earth and let the end into a hole a\nfoot deep, the shock, bringing his whole weight upon the nails in his\nhands, tore and lacerated them, nearly dislocating the shoulders at the\nsame time, while every sinew and muscle of his arms and chest was drawn\nout like cords to sustain this unwonted weight upon them. The first\nthief fainted from pain, at the shock caused by the setting of his own\ncross; and the second, cool and defiant as he had been, uttered a loud\noutcry of agony. But Jesus made no moan, though the unearthly pallor of\nhis countenance showed how inexpressible was his torture.\"\n\nAh, my dear father, I would draw a veil over this scene--for it is too\npainful for me to dwell upon. To the last John believed his Master\nwould not die--that he would not suffer! But when he saw how that pain\nand anguish seized heavily upon him, and how that he suffered like\nother men, without power to prevent it, he greatly wondered, and began\nto believe that all the miracles that he had seen him perform must have\nbeen illusions. He could not reconcile the calmness and dignity, the\nheroic composure and air of innocence with which he came to the cross,\nwith imposture; yet his death would assuredly seal as imposture all\nhis previous career.\n\nWith his mother we all drew as near the cross as we were permitted to\ncome. Jesus then turned his head towards his mother, and, looking down\nwith the profoundest tenderness and love upon her, committed her to the\nfilial care of the weeping John, who stood supporting her.\n\nThere we waited, in expectation of seeing him do some mighty miracle\nfrom the cross and descend unharmed, showing to the world thereby his\ntitle to be the Messias of God.\n\nThe centurion, having placed a guard about the crosses, to keep the\nfriends of the crucified from attempting their rescue, stood watching\nthem. The soldiers who had nailed Jesus to the tree now began to\ndivide, with noisy oaths, his garments among themselves, as well as\nthose of the two thieves, these being by the Roman law the fee of the\nexecutioner. This division being made after some time, but not without\nhigh talking and drawing of their long Syrian knives upon each other,\nthey were at a loss what to do with the large mantle without seam,\nwhich the sisters of Lazarus had woven for the friend of their once\ndead brother. A group of the Roman guard being seated near, astride\nupon the four arms of a fallen cross, playing at dice, suggested that\nthe Parthians should decide by lot whose it should be. This the latter\nconsented to and, taking the dice-box in their bloody hands, each of\nthem threw the dice. The highest number fell to the most ferocious of\nthe four fellows, who proposed to sell the cloak, which John joyfully\npurchased of him at a great price, by means of the jewels of several\nof the women, who gladly took rings from their ears and bracelets from\ntheir arms, I giving, dear father, the emerald which you bought for\nme at Cairo. But I could not see the robe which Jesus had worn thus\ndesecrated.\n\nAfter Jesus had hung about an hour upon the cross, \u00c6milius came from\nPilate, and bore the inscription, which it is usual to place above the\nheads of malefactors, showing their name, and the crime for which they\nare crucified.\n\nAbove the head of Jesus, by means of a small ladder, was placed this\ninscription, in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:\n\n                            THIS IS JESUS,\n                         THE KING OF THE JEWS.\n\nWhen the wicked Abner read this, he turned angrily to the centurion,\nand to \u00c6milius, who stood sadly near the cross.\n\n\"Write not, O Roman, that he is 'King of the Jews,' but that he said he\nwas King of the Jews!\"\n\n\"I have placed above him what Pilate has ordered to be written,\"\nanswered the centurion.\n\nAbner, upon this, mounted a mule and hastened into the city to the\nProcurator, and laid his complaint before him.\n\n\"What I have written, I have written, sir priest,\" we have heard that\nthe Procurator coldly answered.\n\n\"But you, then, have crucified this man for being our king, which we\ndeny!\" retorted Abner.\n\n\"I will take his word, before that of all the Jews in C\u00e6sar's empire!\"\nanswered Pilate angrily. \"He said he was a king; and if ever a king\nstood before a human tribunal, I have had a true and very king before\nme to-day--and I have signed the warrant for his execution. But his\nblood be on your heads! Leave my presence, Jew!\"\n\nAbner left his presence abashed, and returned to the place of\ncrucifixion. The Jews, in the meanwhile, mocked Jesus, and wagged their\nheads at him, and reminded him of his former miracles and prophecies.\n\n\"Thou that raisedst Lazarus, save thyself from death!\" said a Pharisee.\n\n\"If thou art the Son of God, prove it by coming down from the cross!\"\ncried the leader of the Sadducees, Eli.\n\n\"Thou who saidst if a man kept thy sayings he should never see\ndeath--let us see if thou canst avoid death thyself!\" said Iddo, the\nchief of the Essenes.\n\n\"He saved others--himself he cannot save!\" mocked Ezekias, one of the\nchief priests.\n\n\u00c6milius, finding it impossible to save the Prophet from crucifixion,\nhad come out to guard him from the usual insults of the rabble, while\nhe was dying. He had now lost faith in Jesus as a Jewish Prophet,\nbut he loved him still as a man, and pitied him for his sufferings.\nHe talked with him, and earnestly prayed him, as he hung, if he were\nindeed a god, to show his power! Jesus at first made no reply; but he\nshortly said, in a faint voice:\n\n\"I thirst.\"\n\nThe generous knight ran and filled a sponge with the preparation of\nsour wine and hyssop, usually given to malefactors, after they have\nsuffered awhile, in order to stupefy them, and render them insensible\nto their sufferings. While \u00c6milius was affixing a sponge, dipped in\nthis vessel of vinegar, upon a reed, split at the end to hold it\nfirmly, Ishmerai, the robber, who all the while, as he hung, had\nuttered execrations upon his crucifiers, and upon Pilate, called,\nhowling fiercely, to Jesus:\n\n\"If thou be the Son of God, save thyself and us! If thou didst raise a\nman once from the dead, thou canst surely keep us from dying! Thou art\na vile wretch if thou hast power as a prophet, and will not use it for\nme, when thou seest how heavy I am of body, and how my great weight\ntortures me, with infernal racking and rending of every joint.\"\n\nBut Omri, rebuking his fellow, said:\n\n\"Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? We\nsuffer justly for our crimes, and to-day do receive the due reward of\nour transgressions; but this young man hath done nothing amiss, save to\npreach against the wickedness of the priests, and for being holier than\nthey. Lord, I believe that thou art the Son of God! None but the Christ\ncould do the works that thou hast done, or suffer patiently as thou art\ndoing. Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.\"\n\nJesus turned his bleeding head towards him, and, with a smile of\nineffable glory radiating his pale face, said:\n\n\"Verily, I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.\"\n\nOmri, upon this, looked inexpressibly happy, and seemed to rise\nsuperior to his sufferings. The other cursed the Prophet aloud, and\ngnashed at him with his teeth, with looks of demoniacal hatred.\n\nAt this moment \u00c6milius came near with his dripping sponge, and\npresented the reed upwards to the parched lips of the suffering Jesus.\nWhen he tasted it, he would not drink, for he perceived it was the\nopiate which was usually administered in compassion, to shorten the\nanguish of the crucified.\n\nThe robber, Ishmerai, now eagerly cried for the oblivious sponge, and\nthe Prefect giving the reed to a soldier, the latter placed it to the\nmouth of the robber, whose swollen tongue protruded! He drank of it\nwith a sort of mad thirst. The other man, also, gladly assuaged his\nburning fever with it, and soon afterwards both of them sunk into\ninsensibility.\n\nAll at once, just as the sixth hour was sounded from the Temple, by\nthe trumpets of the Levites, the cloud which, formed by the smoke of\nthe numerous sacrifices, had hung all day above the Temple, was seen\nto become suddenly of inky blackness, and to advance towards Calvary,\nspreading and expanding in the most appalling manner, as it approached\nus; and in a few minutes, not only all Jerusalem, but Calvary, the\nValley of Kedron, the Mount of Olives, and all the country, were\ninvolved in its fearful darkness. The sun, which had before been\nshining with noonday brilliancy, became black as sackcloth of hair,\nand a dreadful, unearthly, indescribable night overshadowed the world!\nOut of the center of the cloud, above the crosses, shot forth angry\nlightnings in every direction. But there was no thunder attending\nit--only a dead, sepulchral, suffocating silence!\n\nOf the thousands who had been gazing upon the crucifixion, every one\nwas now fallen prostrate upon the earth in terror! Jerusalem was\nblotted out from our view; only an angry spot of fire-red light, as it\nwere the terrible eye of God itself, was visible above the Temple, over\nthe place of the Holy of Holies. The crosses were no longer visible,\nsave by the fearful shine of the lightnings, flashing fiercely from the\ndread and silent cloud. The form of Jesus, amid the universal gloom,\nshone as if divinely transfigured, and a soft halo of celestial light\nencircled his brow like a crown of glory; while the dark bodies of the\ntwo robbers could scarcely be discerned, save by the faint radiance\nemanating from his own.\n\nMen talked to each other in whispers. An indefinable dread was upon\neach mind; for the sudden overspreading of the darkness was as\nunaccountable as it was frightful. Mary, his mother, and Lazarus,\nexclaimed with awe, both speaking together:\n\n\"This is his power. He has produced this miracle!\"\n\n\"And we shall behold him next descend from the cross,\" cried Rabbi\nAmos. \"Let us take courage!\"\n\nThree hours--three long and awful hours, this supernatural light\ncontinued--and all that while the vast multitude remained fixed, and\nmoaning, waiting they knew not what! At length the cloud parted above\nthe cross, with a loud peal of thunder, while a shower of terrible\nlightning fell, like lances of fire, all around the form of Jesus,\nwhich immediately lost its halo and its translucent radiance, His face,\nat the same time, became expressive of the most intense sorrow of soul.\n\nA hundred voices exclaimed, with horror:\n\n\"See! he is deserted, and punished by the Almighty!\"\n\nWe ourselves were amazed and appalled. Our rising hopes were blasted\nby the livid lightnings, which seemed to blast him! Heaven, as well as\nman, seemed to war against him! His mother gave utterance to a groan\nof agony, and sank upon the ground, satisfied that her son was truly\naccursed of God. At this moment, as if to confirm all our fears, he\ncried, in the Hebrew tongue:\n\n\"Eloi! Eloi! My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\"\n\nUpon this, some, pitying his sufferings, ran to give him wine and\nhyssop, to deaden them.\n\n\"Nay, let him live--let us see if Elias will save him!\" answered Abner.\n\"He calleth for Elisha the prophet!\"\n\nSuddenly the darkness, which had filled all the air, seemed now to\nconcentrate and gather about the cross, so that he who hanged thereon,\nbecame invisible. From the midst of it his thrilling voice was once\nmore heard, as clear and strong as it rang over the waters of Galilee\nwhen he preached from a boat to the thousands thronging the shore:\n\n\"It is finished! Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!\"\n\nAs he uttered these words, a supernatural glory shone around him, and,\nwith a deep sigh, he bowed his head upon his breast and gave up the\nghost!\n\nThe general exclamation of surprise that followed these clear\ntrumpet-tones, was suddenly checked by a terrible trembling of the\nearth beneath our feet, so that vast numbers of people were cast down;\nthe rocks of Calvary were rent, and thrown upwards, while the whole\ncity shook with the convulsive throes of an earthquake. The Temple\nseemed on fire, and above its pinnacle appeared a flaming sword, which\nseemed to us to cleave the walls to their foundations; and while we\nlooked, the sword changed into the shape of a cross of dazzling light,\nstanding high in the air, over the altar; and from its golden beams\npoured rays so bright, that all Jerusalem, and the hill country for a\nwide extent, became as light as noon-day. The ground still continued\nto rock, and the sepulchres of the kings, with the tombs of ancient\nprophets, were riven by vast chasms, and the green earth was strewn\nwith the bones and bodies of the dead. The dark cloud, which had begun\nto form first with the smoke of the sacrifices of the Temple, was now\ndissipated by the light of the fiery cross, and the sun reappeared.\nBefore it the glorious vision over the Temple gradually faded out and\ndisappeared. The natural order of things gradually returned; and men,\nsmiting their breasts, began to move towards the city, filled with awe\nand dread at what they had witnessed. The centurion, who stood watching\nthese fearful things, said, aloud, to \u00c6milius:\n\n\"This man spake the truth. He was a god!\"\n\n\"Truly,\" responded \u00c6milius, \"this was none other than the Son of\nGod--the very Christ of the Jewish Prophets. All things in the air and\non the earth sympathize with his death, as if the God of nature had\nexpired.\"\n\nSad and weeping, we left the dismal scene, hanging our heads in\ndespondency; having, even while wondering at these mighty events\nconnected with his crucifixion, abandoned, forever, all hope that this\nwas he who should have redeemed our nation and restored the royal\nsplendor of Judah and the throne of the house of David.\n\n                       I am, my dear father, your loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXXVI.\n\n_Jerusalem--Third Morning after the Crucifixion._\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nOn the day on which the wonderful events took place which I have\ndetailed at large in my last letter, the chief priests, at the head\nof whom was Annas, met Pilate as he was riding forth from the city,\nattended by a score of men-at-arms, to survey the deep rents made by\nthe earthquake, and to hear from the mouths of all the people the\nparticulars of the marvels which attended the crucifixion of Jesus.\nWhen they came near him, they besought him that he would command his\nsoldiers to take down the bodies, as the next day was a high-day, and\nthat it was contrary to their customs to have criminals executed or\nleft hanging on that day.\n\n\"What think ye?\" demanded Pilate, reining up and soothing his Syrian\nwar-horse, which, startled at the dead bodies that lay near (for they\nwere crossing the place of the opened tombs), had for some time\ntramped and plunged madly. \"What think ye, priests! Have ye crucified\na man or a god? We think these mighty wonders tell us that he was more\nthan a man!\"\n\nThe priests looked troubled, and seemed unable to answer. But Terah,\nchief priest of the house of Mariah, answered and said:\n\n\"My lord, these were wonderful phenomena, but they would have happened\nif this Nazarene had not died! Here is a famous astrologer from Arabia,\nwho studies the skies, who says that this darkness was caused by an\neclipse of the sun! The dark cloud was but the smoke of the sacrifices,\nwhile the earthquake was but a natural and usual occurrence!\"\n\n\"Stay, sir priest,\" answered Pilate; \"we at Rome, though called\nbarbarians by you polished Jews, have some scholarship in astrology.\nWe know well that an eclipse of the sun can take place only when the\nmoon is new! It is to-day, on this eve of the high-day, at its full,\nand will to-night rise nearly opposite the sun! It was no eclipse, sir\npriest, and thy Arabian is a false astrologer. These events occurred\nbecause that divine man, your king, has been executed.\"\n\nThus speaking, the Roman Procurator spurred on towards the place,\nfollowed by his body-guard; now avoiding an open grave, now leaping one\nof the freshly opened chasms, now turning aside from some body cast up\nby the earthquake. When he came in front of the crosses, he saw that\nJesus hung as if dead, while the thieves still breathed and from time\nto time heaved groans of anguish, although partly insensible from the\neffects of the opiate which had been administered to them.\n\n\"Think you, Romulus, that he has any life in him?\" asked Pilate,\nin a subdued tone of voice, gazing sorrowfully, and with looks of\nself-reproach, upon the drooping form of his victim.\n\n\"He is dead an hour ago,\" answered the centurion. \"He expired when the\nearthquake shook the city, and the flaming sword was unsheathed in\nthe air above the Temple! It was a fearful sight, sir, and the more\nwonderful to see it change in the shape of a cross of fire. I fear,\nsir, we have crucified one of the gods in the shape of a man.\"\n\n\"It would appear so, centurion,\" answered Pilate, shaking his head. \"I\nwould it had not been done! But 'tis past! The Jews desire their bodies\nto be removed before their great Sabbath. Let them have their desire.\"\n\nPilate then turned his horse and rode slowly and sadly away from the\nspot. Romulus gave orders to his soldiers to remove the bodies. When\nthe soldiers came to Jesus they saw that he was already dead.\n\n\"Let us not break his legs,\" said one to the other; \"it were sacrilege\nto mar such a manly form.\"\n\n\"Yet we must insure his death, ere he can be taken away,\" responded the\nother. \"I will pierce him to make sure!\"\n\nThus speaking, the soldier directed his spear to the side of Jesus,\nand cleaved the flesh to his heart. John, who stood near, and saw and\nheard all, upon seeing this done bowed his head to the earth in total\nabandonment of hope!\n\nWhen he raised his head to gaze upon his crucified Master, he saw\nflowing from the rent in his side two fountains together, one of\ncrimson blood, and lo! the other of crystal water! He could not believe\nwhat he saw, until the soldiers and the centurion expressed aloud their\nwonder at such a marvel.\n\n\"Never was such a man crucified before,\" exclaimed the centurion.\n\nIn the meanwhile, Rabbi Joseph, the counsellor of Arimathea, who stands\nhigh in favor with Pilate, met the Governor as he was skirting the wall\nof the city with his cohort, and asked him if, after Jesus should be\npronounced dead, he might take down the body and give it sepulchre.\n\n\"Go and receive the body of this wonderful man,\" said Pilate. \"Methinks\nthou art one who knew him well. What thinkest thou of him, Rabbi?\"\nJoseph perceived that Pilate asked the question with deep interest,\nseemingly very greatly troubled in mind, and he answered him boldly:\n\n\"I believe that he was a Prophet sent from God, your excellency, and\nthat to-day has died on Calvary the most virtuous, the wisest, and the\nmost innocent man in C\u00e6sar's empire.\"\n\n\"My conscience echoes your words,\" answered Pilate, gloomily; and\nputting spurs to his horse, he galloped forward in the direction of the\nGethsemane Gardens.\n\nProceeding to the cross, Joseph, by the aid of Lazarus, Simon Peter,\nMary, Martha, and Rabbi Amos, took it out of the socket in the rock,\nwith its precious burden, and gently laid it upon the ground with the\nbody still extended upon it.\n\nIn the still, holy twilight of that dread day, the west all shadowy\ngold and mellow light, the air asleep, and a sacred silence reigning\nin heaven and on earth, they bore away from the hill of death the body\nof the dead Prophet. The shoulders of Nicodemus, of Peter, of Lazarus,\nand of John, gently sustained the loving weight of Him they once\nhonored above all men, and whom, though proved by his death, as they\nbelieved, to have fatally deceived himself as to his divine mission as\nthe Christ, they still loved for his sorrows so patiently borne, for\nhis virtues so vividly remembered.\n\nSlowly the little group wound their way along the rocky surface of\nGolgotha, the last to leave that fearful place in the coming darkness.\nTheir measured tread, their low whispers, the subdued wail of the women\nwho followed the rude bier of branches, the lonely path they trod,\nall combined to render the spectacle one of touching solemnity. The\nshades of evening were gathering thick around them. They took secret\nways for fear of the Jews. But some that met them turned aside with awe\nwhen they knew what corpse was borne along, for the impression of the\nappalling scenes of the day had not yet wholly passed away from their\nminds. At length they reached a gate in the wall of the garden attached\nto the noble abode of the wealthy Rabbi Joseph, who went before, and\nwith a key unlocked it, and admitted them into the secluded enclosure.\nHere the thickness of the foliage of olive and fig trees created\ncomplete darkness; for by this time the evening star was burning like\na lamp in the roseate west. They rested the bier upon the pavement\nbeneath the arch, and awaited in silence and darkness the appearance\nof torches which Rabbi Joseph had sent for to his house. The servants\nbearing them were soon seen advancing, the flickering light from the\nflambeaux giving all things visible by it a wild aspect, in keeping\nwith the hour.\n\n\"Follow me,\" said Joseph, in a low voice, that was full charged with\ndeep sorrow, as the servants preceded him with their torches.\n\nThe sad bearers of the dead body of Jesus raised their sacred burden\nfrom the ground, and trod onward, their measured foot-falls echoing\namong the aisles of the garden. At its farther extremity, where the\nrock hangs beetling over the valley, and forms at this place the\nwall of the garden, was a shallow flight of stone steps leading to a\nnew tomb hewn out of the rock. It had been constructed for the Rabbi\nhimself, and had just been completed, and in it no man had ever been\nlaid.\n\nThe servants, by command of Joseph, rolled back the stone, and exposed\nthe dark vault of the gaping sepulchre.\n\n\"How is it, most worthy Rabbi,\" said a Roman centurion, suddenly\napprizing them of his presence by his voice, \"that you bury thus with\nhonor a man who has proved himself unable to keep the dazzling promises\nhe has allured so many of you with?\"\n\nAll present turned with surprise at seeing not only the centurion, but\nhalf a score of men-at-arms, on whose helmets and cuirasses the torches\nbrightly gleamed, marching across the grass towards the spot.\n\n\"What means this intrusion, Roman?\" asked Rabbi Joseph.\n\n\"I am sent hither by command of the Procurator,\" answered the\ncenturion; \"the chief Jews have had an interview with him, informing\nhim that the man whom he had crucified had foretold that after three\ndays he would rise again. They, therefore, asked a guard to be given\nthem to place over the sepulchre, till the third day, lest his\ndisciples secretly withdraw the body, and report that their master is\nrisen. Pilate, therefore, has commanded me to keep watch to-night with\nmy men.\"\n\n\"We bury him with this deference and respect, centurion,\" answered\nRabbi Joseph, \"because we believe him to have been deceived, not a\ndeceiver. He was gifted by God with vast power, and therefore doubtless\nbelieved he could do all things. He was too holy, wise, and good to\ndeceive. He has fallen a victim to his own wishes for the weal of\nIsrael which were impossible by man to be realized.\"\n\nThe body of Jesus, wrapped in its shroud of spotless linen, and\nsurrounded by the preserving spices of Arabia, was then borne into the\ntomb, and laid reverently upon the table of stone which Joseph had\nprepared for his own last resting-place. Simon Peter was the last to\nquit the side of the body, by which he knelt as if he would never leave\nit, shedding all the while great tears of bitter grief. John only, at\nlast, drawing him gently forth, enabled the centurion and soldiers to\nclose the heavy door of the tomb. Having secured it evenly by revolving\nit in its socket, the signet-bearer of the Procurator, who had come\nwith the soldiers, placed a mass of wax, melted by a torch, upon each\nside of it over the crevices, and stamped each with the Imperial\nsignet, which to break is death!\n\nThe Jews who were present, seeing that the sepulchre was thus made sure\nby the sealing of the stone, and by the setting of the vigilant Roman\nwatch of eighteen men, took their departure. Rabbi Joseph, Nicodemus,\nand the rest of the friends of Jesus, then slowly retired, leaving a\nsentinel pacing to and fro before the tomb, and others grouped about\nbeneath the trees or on the steps of the sepulchre, playing at their\nfavorite game of dice, or gazing upon the broad moon, conversing, or\nsinging their native Italian airs; yet with their arms at hand, ready\nto spring to their feet at the least alarm or word of alert.\n\n(Something fearful must this instant have happened, for the house has\njust shaken as if with an earthquake. What can be the meaning of these\nwonders?)\n\nThis morning Mary and Martha, with others, have gone to visit Jesus'\ntomb in Joseph's garden (as I have already said), for the purpose of\nembalming the body, and on their return we are to go to Bethany for\na few days, until the violent hostility of the Jews to his followers\nsubsides.\n\nI hear now the voices of Mary and Martha, in the court of the street,\nreturning from the tomb. They are pitched to a wild note of joy! What\ncan mean the commotion--the exclamations--the running, and shouting,\nall through the corridors and court? I must close, and fly to learn\nwhat new terror or wonder has occurred.\n\n                             In haste, your affectionate daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXXVII.\n\n_Jerusalem--First Day of the week._\n\n\nMy Dear Father:\n\nHow shall I make known to you, in words, the marvelous, joyous, happy,\nhappy, and most wonderful news which I have to tell! My heart beats,\nmy hand trembles with rapture, while a sense of profound awe impresses\nall my soul! Jesus is alive! Jesus has risen from the dead! Jesus has\nproved himself to be the Son of God!\n\nI can scarcely hold my pen for joy and wonder, or collect my thoughts,\nfor very amazement, at what has transpired.\n\nUpon hearing my name called by Mary, and others, in eager,\njoy-trembling tones, I hastened to go down. On reaching the staircase\nI met my cousin ascending, almost flying. Wonder, love, and happiness\ninexpressible, beamed from her beautiful countenance. Meeting me, she\nthrew her arms about my neck and essayed to utter something! But her\nheart was too full, and, bursting into sobs, she wept convulsively upon\nmy bosom, in an ecstasy of delirious joy.\n\nAmazed and confounded, not knowing what had happened, I held her to my\nheart, and tried to soothe her emotion.\n\n\"What--oh, what hath happened? Speak, dear Mary!\" I asked, unable to\nwait longer in suspense.\n\nShe raised her head, and through her tears and smiles, at length said,\nbrokenly:\n\n\"He--he--is--risen--oh, he is risen from the tomb!\"\n\n\"Who?\" I cried, half believing, yet doubting.\n\n\"The Lord! Our Mighty Master--Jesus--the very Son of God, the Blessed!\nHe is alive, Adina! Come--delay not! I have flown into the city to tell\nthee, and Mary has told Peter and John, whom she met at the door, and\nwho, doubting, as thou hast done, have run to see if these things be\nso. They will find the sepulchre empty! Haste to go with us!\"\n\nWhile, overwhelmed with wonder, and trembling with joy, I was preparing\nto accompany her, Martha appeared, her face radiant with celestial\nhappiness.\n\n\"You have heard the tidings of great joy, O Adina?\"\n\n\"Can they be true, Martha?\" I asked, earnestly.\n\n\"Yes, for I have seen him walking, heard his voice, and touched him!\nYou, also, shall see him, for he hath sent us to tell his disciples!\"\n\nI wept for joy!\n\nAt the gateway we met Mary of Bethany, and we three now hastened\ntogether towards the garden of Joseph, I wishing my feet wings, that\nI might reach the sepulchre sooner, fearing that the vision of Jesus\nwould be vanished ere I arrived. As we were going out of the gate, we\nwere met by four or five Roman soldiers, who, with aspects stamped with\nfear, were running past us into the city.\n\n\"What means this flight and terror, men?\" cried the captain of the\ngate. \"You fly as if you were in full retreat from an enemy. Speak,\nMarius! You seem to have your senses!\" he demanded of the youngest of\nthe soldiers, an officer under a centurion.\n\nWe paused to hear what he said.\n\n\"Per Dian, captain! we have been terrified beyond measure,\" answered\nthe soldier. \"My heart beats yet, as if it were an alarum-drum. You\nsee, we were a part of the guard left in charge of the sepulchre\nof this Jewish Prophet, crucified three days ago. Before dawn this\nmorning, as I was pacing to and fro before the tomb, there suddenly\nshone round about us a light, like a descending meteor, accompanied\nby a rushing as if of a legion of wings. The men started to their\nfeet in amazement! On looking about us I saw a dazzling form, in the\nmid-heavens, with broad wings of gold, sparkling with myriads of stars,\nevery feather a star, and clad in raiment white and gleaming as the\nsummer's lightning. This terrible presence, like that of one of the Dii\nImmortales, made us fear exceedingly, beyond any terror we had before\nexperienced. But when we saw this mighty being descend straight towards\nthe tomb, and beheld the resplendent majesty of his celestial visage,\nwhich blinded us, our hearts failed within us. The angel, or god,\nalighted amid a blaze of radiance at the door of the sepulchre; and as\nhis foot touched the earth it trembled, as if with a great earthquake.\nThe soldiers shook with terror, and fell to the ground, before his\npresence, as dead men. I stood, unable to move, frozen by fear to a\nstatue. He touched the great stone door with one of his fingers, and it\nrolled outward at his feet, as if a catapult had struck it, and, like\nJove taking his throne, he sat upon it!\n\n\"But one thing more,\" continued the soldier, \"was wanting to fill my\ncup of terror to the full. And it followed. I saw the crucified Prophet\nrise up from the slab on which he was laid, and stand upon his feet,\nand walk forth alive, with the tread of some mighty conqueror! The\ncelestial being, so terrible in his majestic splendor, veiled his face\nwith his wings before his presence, and prostrated himself at his feet,\nas if in homage to one greater than himself!\n\n\"I saw no more, but fell, insensible with terror, to the earth. When,\nat length, I came to myself, the tomb was filled with dazzling forms\nof resplendent beauty; the air rang with music, such as mortals never\nbefore heard; and I fled, pursued by my fears, the rest of the soldiers\nrising and following me, each man fearing to look back, but bewildered\nwe lost our way.\"\n\nThe soldiers hurried forward into the city; while, confirmed now in the\ncertainty that Jesus was risen, I hastened, with Martha and Mary, in\nthe direction of the garden.\n\n\"How and where did you behold him, Mary?\" I interrogated, as we drew\nnear to the steep path leading to the gate of Joseph's garden.\n\n\"When we reached the tomb, with our spices and precious ointments, to\nembalm the body, we found it open, and the soldiers, who had guarded\nit, lying about upon the ground like dead men. Upon the stone sat the\narchangel, but the resplendent light of his apparel and countenance was\nso tempered to our eyes, that, although we believed it was an angel, we\nwere not terrified, for his looks were serene, and the aspect of his\nface divinely beautiful, combined with a terrible and indescribable\nmajesty. We shook with fear, and stood still, unable to move, gazing on\nhim in silent expectation.\n\n\"'Fear not,' said he in a voice that seemed to fill the air about us\nwith undulating music, 'fear not, daughters of Abraham. I know that ye\nseek Jesus, which was crucified! He is not here, but is risen, as he\nforetold. Lo! see the place where the Lord of Life, and Conqueror of\nDeath, hath lain!'\n\n\"We then timidly approached, and looked in, and saw the sepulchre\nempty; but a soft light filled the whole place.\n\n\"'Go and tell his disciples that the Lord is risen,' added the angel,\n'and that he will go before them into Galilee. There shall they see him\nnot many days hence!'\n\n\"When the angel had thus spoken to us,\" continued Mary, \"we departed\nquickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, and ran to go into\nthe city, to bring his disciples word, according to the command of the\nangel. But I had not advanced so far as the gate of the garden, being\nbehind the rest, when I beheld Jesus himself standing in my path. I\nstopped, between terror and joy.\n\n\"'All hail! daughter of Israel,' he said. 'Be not afraid. I am living,\nthat was dead! Go, Mary, and tell my mother and my brethren, and Peter,\nand John, and Lazarus, that I am risen, and that I have spoken with\nyou. Be not afraid! I am the resurrection and the life!'\n\n\"I then cast myself at his feet, and worshiped him with awe; and when I\nlooked up, he was gone.\n\n\"The others did not see him. We now continued on to the city, as if we\nhad wings. But see! we are now at the gate of the garden,\" added Mary\nof Bethany, in a low tone of awe. \"He must be near us.\"\n\nBut we approached the tomb without seeing any man, having arrived\nbefore Peter and John, who had been delayed some time at the Jaffa\ngate. We, therefore, found no one at the sepulchre. It was open, and\nempty. The stone in front, on which the archangel sat, was vacant. As\nwe drew near, a bright light suddenly shone out from the tomb; and upon\ngoing higher I beheld two angels, clothed in white robes, and with\ncountenances of divine radiance, seated, one at the head and the other\nat the foot of the slab of marble, on which the body of Jesus had lain.\n\n\"Be not afraid, daughters of Jerusalem,\" said one of the angels,\nspeaking to us in the Hebrew tongue; \"He whom ye seek, liveth! He\nis risen from the tomb, which could not hold him but through his\nconsent; for Jesus is Lord of Life, and Victor over Death and Hell, for\nevermore! Go your way, and tell his disciples that he awaits them by\nthe seaside.\"\n\nThe angels then vanished from our sight; and at the same moment John\nand Peter came running, and seeing the stone rolled away, John stooped\ndown, and looked in, and said that he saw the linen clothes in which\nthe body of Jesus had been wrapped, lying folded together, and also\nthe napkin which had been bound about his head. Peter, now coming up,\nbreathless with eagerness and haste, no sooner saw the tomb open, than\nhe went boldly in, and carefully examined all for himself. When we\nmade known to them what the angels had said to us, that Jesus would go\nbefore and meet them in Galilee, they rejoiced greatly, and shortly\nafterwards departed, to hasten into Galilee. I also returned with them,\nto convey the news to Mary, the mother of Jesus, who had scarcely left\nher couch, in her great sorrow, since the day of the crucifixion. Mary\nof Bethany, however, remained, lingering near the tomb, hoping that\nJesus had not yet left the garden, and that she might once more behold\nhim.\n\nSeated upon the steps of the tomb, weeping for joy at his resurrection,\nand wishing once more to behold him, she heard a footstep behind her,\nand, turning round, saw a man standing near her. It was Jesus himself,\nand kneeling, she was about to clasp his feet, when he said to her:\n\n\"Touch me not, Mary. I am not yet ascended to my Father. But go and\ntell Lazarus, and my brethren, and my mother, that I ascend ere many\ndays, unto my Father and your Father, and unto my God and your God.\"\n\nJesus then vanished out of her sight; and she came and told all these\nthings to us, and to the disciples.\n\nBut what pen can describe, my dear father, the amazement and\nconsternation of Caiaphas, and the chief priests, and the rest of his\nenemies!\n\nCaiaphas, hearing the uproar of the soldiers, sprang from his couch to\ninquire the cause, and on being assured by his servants that \"Jesus had\nburst his tomb and risen alive from the dead!\" he quaked, and became\ndeadly pale.\n\nWhen Pilate received the account from the centurion of the guard, he\nsaid:\n\n\"We have crucified a god, as I believed! Henceforth I am accursed!\" and\nleaving his Hall of Judgment, he went and shut himself up in his own\nroom, which he has not since left.\n\nCaiaphas and the chief priests and scribes, in the meanwhile assembled\ntogether in full Sanhedrim, and hearing the testimony of the centurion,\nwere convinced that the fact could not be concealed of Jesus'\nresurrection.\n\n\"Who has seen him alive?\" demanded the High Priest.\n\n\"I have seen him, my lord,\" answered the centurion. \"I saw his pierced\nfeet and hands as he walked past me; and the morning breeze blew aside\nhis mantle and exposed to my eyes the open wound made by the spear of\nmy soldier, Philippus. He was alive, and in full strength of limb!\"\n\n\"Thou sawest a vision, Roman!\" answered Caiaphas. \"Come aside with us,\nand let us talk with thee.\"\n\nIn a few minutes afterwards the centurion left the court of the High\nPriest's palace, followed by a Gibeonite slave, bearing after him a\nvase of Persian gold. He has told every one since, that he must have\nseen a spirit, for \"the disciples of Jesus came by night and stole away\nthe body of their master, while they slept, overcome with watching.\"\nHis soldiers have also been bribed to tell the same tale!\n\nSuch is the false version that now goes about the city, my dear father;\nbut there are few that give it credence, even of our enemies. As\n\u00c6milius, who is filled with great joy at the resurrection of Jesus,\nto-day very justly says:\n\n\"If these soldiers slept on guard, they merited death therefor, by the\nmilitary laws of the empire. If, while sleeping, their charge--the\ndead body of Jesus--was taken away, they deserve death for failing\nto prevent it. Why then are they not placed under arrest by Pilate's\norders, if this story be true? Because Pilate well knows that it is not\ntrue! He knows, because he has privately examined many of the soldiers,\nthat Jesus did burst his tomb, and that angels rolled away the stone\nwithout breaking his seals, which could not have been left unmarred but\nby a miracle. He knows that Jesus has arisen--for it is believed that\nhe has also beheld him--at least such is the rumor at the Pretorium.\nIt was the form of Jesus visible before him, doubtless, that drove\nhim in such amazement from his Hall to his secret chamber; for it was\nremarked that he started, turned deadly pale, and essayed to address\nthe invisible space before him, as if he saw a spirit.\"\n\nBesides the facts which I have stated, is the increasing testimony\nof the thousands who, to-day, have gone out of the city to see the\nsepulchre where He was laid. They say, both enemies of Jesus as well as\nour friends, that it was impossible for the door to have been opened by\nany human being, not by Pilate himself, without marring the seals. They\nalso assert that, to remove the stone by night, which would require\nfour men, and to bear forth the body, would have been impossible, if\nthe guard had been present; and if they had been asleep, they must have\nbeen awakened with the heavy noise made by rolling the massive door\nalong the hollow pavement outside the sepulchre.\n\n\"If,\" say the common people, \"the watch slept, why does not the\nProcurator put them to death?\"\n\nThis question remains unanswered, and the watch go about the streets\nunharmed! My dear father, remember no more my unbelief, but with me\nbelieve in Jesus, that he is the Son of God, the Savior of Israel, the\nimmortal Christ of the Prophets.\n\n                                       Your affectionate daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXXVIII.\n\n_Bethany, House of Mary and Martha, a Month after the Passover._\n\n\nI deeply regret, my dearest father, the delays which have detained you\nso long from arriving at Jerusalem, but trust that, ere many days,\nthe caravan for which you wait will reach Gaza, and that you will be\nenabled to resume your journey to the Holy City. I am now at Bethany,\nwhere I have been some time making my home.\n\nUncle Amos has retired, for the present, to his farm, near Jericho,\nbut will be here to-morrow to remain with us. Therefore, when you come\nnear to Jerusalem, instead of going directly into the city, turn aside\nby the road leading past the king's gardens, and go up the brook of\nKedron, into the way to Bethany. I pray that God may preserve you in\nsafety, and soon permit me the happiness of once more embracing you,\nafter three long years of separation.\n\nAnd what events have transpired in these three years! Once more, my\ndear father, read carefully over the whole narrative, and answer to\nyourself this inquiry: Is not this man the Son of God? Is not he the\nvery Christ, the long-looked-for Messias?\n\nIsaias prophesied of the Christ whom he saw afar off, that he should be\n\"a man of sorrows;\" that he should be \"despised and rejected of men;\"\nthat he should be \"taken from prison and judgment, and cut off from\nthe land of the living;\" that he should be \"numbered with the wicked\nin his death, and make his grave with the rich!\" How light, how clear,\nhow plain, all these prophecies now are to me, and to us all! How\nwonderfully in their minuteness they have been fulfilled, you already\nknow.\n\nHis resurrection, also, was foretold by himself, but we did not\nunderstand his words until now. When he spoke of destroying the temple,\nand raising it in three days, he spoke of the tabernacle of his body!\nOh, how many sayings, which, when spoken by his sacred lips, we\nunderstood not, now rush upon us in all their meaning, proving to us\nthat every step of his life was foreknown to him; that he went forward\nto his death aware of all things whatsoever that were going to befall\nhim!\n\nBut his resurrection was also foretold by the holy David, when he\nsaid, \"Thou wilt not leave his soul in hell, nor suffer thy Holy One\nto see corruption;\" and his arraignment before Pilate, Caiaphas, and\nHerod, was foretold by David, when he said: \"The kings of the earth set\nthemselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and\nagainst his Anointed;\" yet the Lord saith, \"Thou art my Son, this day\nhave I begotten thee.\" Also, my dear father, turn to the Psalms (22) of\nKing David, and compare the following words, which speak of Messias,\nwith what I have described in my previous letters:\n\n\"They shoot out the lip at me; they shake the head; they laugh me to\nscorn. They say, He trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him. Thou\nhast brought me into the dust of death.\"\n\nRead the same psalm of the holy king a little farther, and you will see\nthese words, which were put by the royal prophet into the lips of his\nfuture Messias:\n\n\"The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and\nmy feet. They part my garments among them, and upon my vesture cast\nlots!\"\n\nRead and compare these prophecies of Messias, with the accounts in my\nletters, dear father, and you will not only be convinced that Jesus is\nthe Messias, but you will perceive that his humiliation and sufferings\nbefore Pilate and Caiaphas, his agony on the cross, his death and\nburial, instead, as we ignorantly conceived, of being evidences that\nhe was not the Christ, are proof that he was the very Son of the\nHighest--the Shiloh of Jehovah foretold by the prophets--the Anointed\nKing of Israel.\n\nOh, wonderful is all this! How marvelous these things passing before\nour eyes! Now all is dazzlingly clear! The Prophets are unveiled to\nour sight, and we see that these things must have happened to him. Oh,\nour darkness, our blindness, to have seen in the prophecies of Messias\nonly the passages which speak of his glory and power! Read the Prophets\nno longer, my dearest father, with a veil before your eyes! See, in\nall you read, Jesus as the end of the Prophets, the goal of all their\nfar-seeing prophecies, the veritable and sure realization of their\nprophetic visions.\n\nThus, my dear father, has Jesus in all particulars proved himself to be\nthe subject of all prophecy--the King of Israel. But you will now ask,\n\"Is he to re-establish the throne of David, and live forever?\"\n\nYes, but not a Jerusalem of earthly splendor. Oh, how clear are all\nthings to my apprehension now! The Jerusalem in which his throne is to\nbe placed, is heavenly, and the true Jerusalem, of which the present\none is but the material type--what the body is to the soul of man.\n\nJesus has talked with me since his resurrection, and explained all this\nto me, and much more that is wonderful and full of joy.\n\nIt is now four weeks since he arose, and in that time he has been not\nonly seen by all the disciples, but by hundreds of his followers. The\nonly change in his usual appearance, dear father, to the eye, is a\ntransparent paleness, which gives a soft radiance to his whole aspect,\nand a certain majestic reserve, which awes all who draw near to him;\nso that men speak in his presence in subdued whispers. His mother,\nhappiest of women now, as she was before the most wretched, ever sits\nat his feet, and silently enjoys his sacred presence, seldom speaking,\nand looking up to him rather as a worshiper to her God, than a mother\nupon her son. That he is in the flesh in reality, and not a spirit, he\nhas proven to his disciples, by eating with them; and in a remarkable\nway to an incredulous disciple, called Thomas, who, not believing that\nJesus was risen in his real body from the dead, was told by the divine\nLord to place his fingers into his hands, and his hand into his side;\nwhich Thomas, convinced, with awe refused to do; but, falling at his\nfeet in amazement and adoration, worshiped him as God.\n\nTo-day his disciples are with him in the gardens of David, at\nBethlehem, where he is holding daily a solemn council with the\neleven, unfolding to them the glory of his kingdom, and opening their\nunderstandings to the clear apprehension of all which the prophets\nhave written concerning him. John, who is a member of this divine\ncouncil, says that the power of Jesus, the extent and majesty of his\nkingdom, the infinite results of his death and resurrection, are not\nto be conceived of by those who have not listened to these sublime\nrevelations of his own lips.\n\n\"He hath shown us,\" said John, \"how that his true office as Son of God,\nand Son of Man, is to be a mediator. He showed us that he himself was\nthe High Priest, and how that the cross was the veritable altar of this\ngreat world's sacrifice, and its Temple the whole earth and heavens!\"\n\nHow wonderful, dear father, is all this! He further teaches his\ndisciples that he will shortly ascend from the earth, to enter upon his\ncelestial reign, and that his subjects there are to be all who love\nhim and keep his commandments. It is to be a kingdom of holiness, and\nnone will enter there but the pure in heart. He says, further, that as\nwe do now confess our sins over the blood of the victim we sacrifice\nfor ourselves in the Temple, so henceforth we must look to him (by\nfaith when we shall see him no longer), slain a sacrifice for us, and\nconfess our sins to the Father for his sake. Jesus has moreover taught\nhis disciples that the Gentiles are to share equally with the children\nof Abraham the benefits of his death and resurrection; that this good\nnews shall be proclaimed to them by his disciples, and that they will\ngladly hear it and believe.\n\n\"The fountain of my everlasting kingdom,\" saith he, \"truly shall be\nlaid upon earth in the hearts of men; but the building is with God,\neternal in the heavens. The tomb through which I have passed is its\ngate, and all who would come after me, and enter in, must follow in my\nfootsteps.\"\n\nThomas then asked his Lord whither he would go, and the way; how he\nwould leave the earth, since he could die no more.\n\n\"Thou shalt see for thyself ere many days pass,\" answered Jesus. \"In\nthat I have risen, all whom my Father giveth me shall rise also from\nthe dead; and those whom I raise up, I will take with me the way I go;\nfor where I am, they shall evermore be with me also.\"\n\nSuch, dear father, is a brief account of what John has told us,\ntouching the divine teaching of Messias, the Son of God, respecting his\nkingdom. Yet much is still mysterious; but we know enough to be willing\nto trust ourselves to him for this life, and for that which is to come.\nWe know that all power is given into his hands, and that he can save\nall men who believe in and accept him.\n\nWhat is remarkable, dear father, notwithstanding the Jews have heard\nthat Jesus walks everywhere through Jewry, yet no efforts are made\nto lay hands on him. At his presence, crowds of his enemies fly like\nthe stricken multitude before the advancing sirocco. His presence in\nJudea is a present dread, like some great evil, to those who fear\nhim; but like a celestial blessing to more who love him. Pilate, on\nthe eve of making a journey last week to Bethel, before quitting the\ncity dispatched couriers in advance to ascertain \"whether Jesus the\nCrucified was on the line of his route!\" Caiaphas, having occasion to\ngo to Jericho, a few days after the Passover, hearing that Jesus had\nbeen seen with his disciples on the road, made a circuit round by Luz\nand Shiloh, in order not to meet him. The gates of the city are kept\nconstantly shut, lest he should enter within the walls; some of the\nchief priests fearing greatly to behold his face, while others imagine\nthat he is engaged in raising an army, to advance upon and take\nJerusalem from the Romans.\n\nI rejoice to see by your last letter, that you may be expected to reach\nhere the week after next. Oh that you were here now, that you might\nbe taken by John to see Jesus! for from what he says he will not long\nremain visible among us. Whither he goeth or how he goeth away, no man\ncan say.\n\n                                 Faithfully, your loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n\n\n\nLETTER XXXIX.\n\n_Bethany, Forty Days after the Resurrection._\n\n\nMy Dearest Father:\n\nWith emotions that nearly deprive me of the power to hold my pen, and\nwith trembling fingers that make the words I write almost illegible, I\nsit down to make known to you the extraordinary event which will mark\nthis day in all future time as the most worthy to be noted among men.\n\nOn the fortieth day after the resurrection, my dear father, early in\nthe morning, Jesus left the house of Mary and Lazarus, where he had sat\nup with us all night speaking to us of the glories of the life above,\nand the excellency of heart and purity of life required of all who\nshould enter it.\n\n\"Lord,\" said Martha, as he went forth, \"whither goest thou?\"\n\n\"Come and see,\" he answered. \"Whither I go ye shall know, and the way\nye shall know: for where I am ye shall also be, and all those who\nbelieve in me.\"\n\n\"Lord,\" said Mary, kneeling at his feet, \"return at noon, and remain\nwith us during the heat of the day.\"\n\n\"Mary,\" said Jesus, laying his hand gently upon her forehead, \"I am\ngoing to my Father's house! There thou shalt dwell with me in mansions\nnot made with hands.\"\n\nThus speaking, he walked slowly onward towards the hill of Bethany,\nnot far from the place where Lazarus was buried. He was followed not\nonly by Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and John, my Cousin Mary, and myself,\nbut by all the disciples. There were at least five hundred persons\nin all, moving on with him ere he reached the green hillside beyond\nthe village; for all followed him, expecting to hear more glorious\nrevelations from his lips.\n\n\"He goes to the hill to pray,\" said one of his disciples.\n\n\"Nay, he goeth to show us some mighty miracle, from the expression of\npower and majesty in his aspect,\" said Thomas to me, gazing upon the\nLord with awe; for each moment as he ascended the hill, his countenance\ngrew more glorious with a certain God-like majesty, and shone as the\nface of Moses descending from Mount Sinai. We all hung back with\nadoring awe, and alone he proceeded onward, a wide space being left\nby us between ourselves and him. Yet there was no terror in the glory\nwhich surrounded and shined out from him, but rather a holy radiance,\nthat seemed to be the very light of holiness and peace.\n\n\"So looked he,\" said John to us, \"when we beheld him transfigured in\nthe mount with Elias and Moses.\"\n\nThe hill, which is not lofty, was soon surmounted by his sacred feet.\nHe stood upon its apex alone. We kept back near the brow of the hill,\nfor his raiment shone now like the sun, while his countenance was as\nlightning. We shaded our eyes to behold him. All was now expectation,\nand a looking for some mighty event--what, we knew not! John drew\nnearest to him, and upon his knees, with clasped hands, looked towards\nhim earnestly; for he knew, as he afterwards told us, what would take\nplace. Joy and yet tears were on his face, as he gazed with blinded\neyes, as one gazes on the noonday sun, upon his divine Master. It was\na scene, dear father, impressive beyond expression. Jesus seemed for\na moment to survey the scenes of his sufferings, of his ignominy and\ndeath, with the look of a divine conqueror. He then turned to his\ndisciples and said:\n\n\"Ye have been with me in my sorrows, and you shall now begin to behold\nmy glory. Remember all things which I have taught you concerning my\nkingdom. Go forth and teach the glad tidings of salvation to all men,\nand baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and\nof the Holy Ghost; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of\nthe world.\"\n\nThus speaking, in a voice that thrilled every bosom with emotions\nindescribable, he extended his hands above their heads and blessed\nthem, while we all fell upon our faces to the ground also, to receive\nhis blessing.\n\nHe then lifted up his eyes to the calm blue depths of heaven, and said\nin the same words he had spoken on the night of the Passover, as John\nhad told me:\n\n\"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory\nwhich I had with thee before the world was!\"\n\nAs he spoke, we raised our faces from the ground, to behold him\nleaving the earth, rising from the hilltop into the air, with a slow\nand majestic ascension, his hands outspread over us who were beneath,\nas if shedding down blessings upon us all. The loud burst of surprise\nwhich rose from five hundred voices at seeing him soar away into the\natmosphere, was followed by a profound and awful silence, as we watched\nhim rise and still rise, ascending and still ascending, into the upper\nair, his whole form growing brighter and brighter, as the distance\nwidened between his feet and the earth!\n\nUpon our knees, in speechless wonder, we followed his ascent with our\namazed eyes, not a word being spoken by any soul; nay, hearts might\nhave been heard beating in the intense expectation of the moment!\n\nLo! in the far-off height of heaven, we beheld suddenly appear a bright\ncloud, no larger than a man's hand, but each instant it expanded\nand grew broader and brighter, and, swift as the winged lightning,\ndescended through the firmament downward, until we beheld it evolve\nitself into a glittering host of angels, which no man could number,\ncountless as the stars of heaven. As these shining legions descended,\nthey parted into two bands, and sweeping along the air, met the\nascending Son of God in mid-sky! The rushing of their ten thousand\ntimes ten thousand wings, was heard as the sound of many waters.\nSurrounding Jesus, like a shining cloud, they received him into their\nmidst, and hid him from our eyes amid the glories of their celestial\nsplendor!\n\nNow came to our ears the sounds of heavenly song, a sublimer chorus\nthan earth ever heard before. From the squadrons of Seraphim and\nCherubim encircling with their linked wings the Son of God, came, like\nthe unearthly music one hears in the dreams of night, these words,\nreceding, as they mounted upward with the Conqueror of Death and Hell:\n\n    \"Lift up your heads, O ye gates!\n    And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors;\n    And the King of Glory shall come in!\"\n\nThis chorus seemed to be answered from the inmost heavens, as if an\narchangel were standing at its portals, keeping watchful guard over the\nentrance facing the earth.\n\n  \"Who is the King of Glory?\"\n\n  \"The Lord strong and mighty, even the Lord mighty in battle against\n  principalities and powers,\"\n\nwas chanted back from the ascending escort of Jesus, in the sublimest\nstrains of triumphant joy.\n\n  \"Lift up your heads, O ye gates! and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting\n  doors, and the King of Glory shall come in!\"\n\nUpon this we heard a mighty voice, as it were in heaven, accompanied\nby the sound of a trumpet, and ten thousand voices about the throne of\nJehovah seemed to say:\n\n  \"God is coming up with a shout. He rideth upon the heavens! He\n  ascendeth on high! He hath led captivity captive, and received\n  gifts for men. O clap your hands, all ye people of earth! Shout his\n  triumph, ye hosts of heaven!\n\n  \"Fling wide your gates, O City of God! Be ye lifted up, ye\n  everlasting doors, for the King of Glory enters in!\"\n\nAscending and still ascending, receding and still receding, fainter\nand fainter, came down to earth the angelic choruses, when at length\nthe brightest cloud of angels faded away into the upper heaven, the\nSon of God shining in their midst, like a central sun, surrounded by a\nluminous halo; till finally, like a star, they remained a few moments\nlonger, and then the heavens received him out of our sight.\n\nWhile we stood gazing up into the far skies, hoping, expecting, yet\ndoubting if we should ever behold him again, two bright stars seemed\nto be descending from the height of heaven above us. In a few seconds\nwe saw that they were angels. Alighting on the place where Jesus had\nleft, they said to the eleven, \"Why gaze ye up into heaven, ye men of\nGalilee? This same Jesus, whom ye have seen go into heaven, shall so\ncome in like manner as ye have now seen him ascend!\" Thus speaking,\nthey vanished out of our sight!\n\nSuch, my dear father, is the appropriate crowning event of the\nextraordinary life of Jesus, both Lord and Christ!\n\nHis kingdom is, therefore, my dear father, clearly not of this world,\nas he said to Pilate, the Procurator; but it is Above.\n\nDoubt, then, no longer, dearest father! Jesus, the Son of Mary\nin his human nature, was the Son of God in his divine nature; an\nincomprehensible and mysterious union, whereby he had brought together\nin harmony the two natures, separated far apart by sin, by giving his\nown body as an offering, to reconcile both in one immaculate body upon\nthe cross. There is now no more condemnation to them who believe in him\nand accept him.\n\nBut I cannot write all I would say to you, dearest father. When we\nmeet--which you rejoice me in saying, will be on the first day of\nthe week, at Jerusalem--I will unfold to you all that the divine and\nglorified Jesus has taught me. Doubt not that he is Messias. Hesitate\nnot to accept him; for he is the end of Moses, and of the Law, and of\nthe Prophets, the very Shiloh who should come and restore all things;\nto whom be glory, power, dominion, majesty, and excellency, evermore.\n\n                                             Your loving daughter,\n                                                                 Adina.\n\n[Illustration: THE END.]\n\n\n\n\n=The New Sabbath Library=--(Continued from second page cover.)\n\n\nNo. 5. August, 1898.\n\n=The Days of Mohammed=\n\nBY ANNA MAY WILSON.\n\nSelected as being the best manuscript offered during the contest of\n1897, and awarded the prize of $1,000.\n\nYusuf, a Persian of the fire-worshiping sect, has, at his first\nsacrifice of a human life, revolted against the horror of his religion,\nand he decides to leave Persia in search of Truth. In his travels he\nmeets that strangest character of ancient or medieval times, Mohammed.\nThe scene is confined almost entirely to Arabia.\n\n\nNo. 6. September, 1898.\n\n=CHONITA=\n\nBY ANNIE MARIA BARNES.\n\nThe gifted author of this book has here produced a vivid and intensely\ninteresting story of the Mexican Mines. It first appeared in the YOUNG\nPEOPLE'S WEEKLY, and its publication in book form is in response to\nnumerous requests from its many thousands of delighted readers. A\nnumber of short but interesting stories are added at the end of the\nbook.\n\n\nNo. 7. October, 1898.\n\n=The Prince of the House of David=\n\nBY REV. J. H. INGRAHAM.\n\nThe fame of this book has been long since established, and its\nfascination has already held sway over multitudes of delighted readers.\nThe scene is laid in Jerusalem, during the most stirring period of\nearth's history. This edition has been thoroughly revised and in parts\nrewritten, all unnecessary repetition appearing in the original edition\nof the book being omitted.\n\n\nNo. 8. November, 1898.\n\n=A Star in a Prison=\n\nA TALE OF CANADA.\n\nBY ANNA MAY WILSON.\n\nThe central figure of the story is a young man who, being placed in the\npenitentiary on circumstantial evidence, there learns to understand the\nspirit of Christ's self-giving, and is finally set free through the\ninstrumentality of a Christian doctor.\n\n\nNo. 9. December, 1898.\n\n=Ten Nights in a Bar-Room=\n\nBY T. S. ARTHUR.\n\nNew and complete edition of this famous work, which has acquired a\nworld-wide reputation as the most thrilling and powerfully written\ntemperance story ever produced. The book comprises 96 large pages, with\nillustrations. Printed from new type on good paper. It is the cheapest\nedition ever published, and is here produced in handsome and attractive\nform.\n\n\nNo. 10. January, 1899.\n\n=Intra Muros; or, Within the Walls.=\n\n=A DREAM OF HEAVEN.=\n\nBY MRS. REBECCA R. SPRINGER.\n\nAuthor of \"Beechwood,\" \"Self,\" \"Songs by the Sea,\" \"Leon,\" etc. An\nentertaining book, calculated to make heaven seem nearer and more real\nto us, and death far less gloomy. This remarkable work will bring\ncomfort and consolation to the heart of every reader.\n\nIn addition to those mentioned above, a new book will be issued every\nmonth. It is our intention to make this the best, cheapest and most\ncomplete Sunday-school Library in the world. Nothing so comprehensive\nhas ever been attempted. The exceedingly low price at which the\npamphlet (5-cent) edition of this Library is offered is regarded as a\nremarkable achievement, and one that no publishing house, unless fully\nand thoroughly equipped with modern machinery and ample facilities,\nwould attempt. Each book comprises a complete story in one volume. The\nfive-cent editions are as large and handsome as most books usually sold\nfor twenty-five cents. The cloth (twenty-five-cent) editions are worthy\na place in any library, and are as good value as books usually sold for\nfifty cents to one dollar.\n\nIn literary merit they have no superiors and few equals. These books\nare carefully written by the best authors, and are especially adapted\nfor home reading. Young and old alike enjoy and appreciate them.\nNothing of an objectionable nature is admitted, and they all inculcate\nteachings that will strengthen noble impulses and improve character.\nAlthough of great interest to the general reader, they are in no way\nsensational or demoralizing. We have aimed in these books to furnish\nto the young the purest books that the best authors are capable of\nwriting. Some of them are prize-winners and have attained a wide\nreputation.\n\nThe five-cent edition of these books is admirably adapted for\nSunday-school use, either for the library or as presents to classes\nor the whole school. Every Sunday-school in the land should subscribe\nregularly for several copies of the New Sabbath Library, and thus be\ncertain of getting promptly the new numbers as they are published each\nmonth. Subscriptions received for an entire year or any number of\nmonths. Single copies, or any quantity of any special book, promptly\nsent on receipt of price.\n\nSend 5 cents for any one of these books, examine and read it for\nyourself, and you will agree that we have inaugurated a new era in\npublishing, and one that will be of incalculable benefit to the young\nas well as a help to parents and teachers. Those who may not wish to\nsubscribe by the year may procure one or more copies of any book on the\nfollowing terms:\n\n\nPRICES:\n\n  =Pamphlet Edition=, in quarto form, enameled paper covers,\n  beautifully decorated. =5 cents= per copy, postpaid, to any address\n  in quantities to suit.\n\n  =Cloth Edition=, on extra heavy paper, heavy covers, cloth back and\n  corners, ornamented sides, =25 cents= per copy, postpaid to any\n  address.\n\n\n  ADDRESS:\n  =DAVID C. COOK PUBLISHING COMPANY=, 36 WASHINGTON  =CHICAGO=.\n                                          STREET,\n\n\n[Illustration: YOUNG PEOPLE'S WEEKLY]\n\n=A Religious Paper for Young People.=\n\n  =Young People's Weekly=\n\n  =60 Cents a Year=\n\nIs fast becoming known as \"=THE MODEL PAPER=\" for young people. It\ncontains eight pages of four wide columns each, illustrated in the most\nelaborate manner with beautiful and original \"half-tone\" engravings. It\nis the best and cheapest paper for young people ever published.\n\n  =Consecrated Talent of Writers.=\n  =Consecrated Outlay of Publishers.=\n  =Consecrated Watch-care of Editors.=\n\n\n=The Youth of To-day= need the best paper that can be devised. 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Every effort possible is put forth to make it not only the =most\nattractive= paper for young people but also the =most helpful=.\n\nThe times demand that our intelligent boys and girls of the\nSunday-school should be provided with the best literature reliable\nworkers can supply.\n\n\nSERIAL STORIES.\n\nBelieving that a judicious use of serial stories of the highest\ncharacter is to be heartily commended, but believing also that the\ngreatest care must be exercised lest in seeking to quicken interest and\nchain attention, we foster sensational tastes, we allow only our most\ntrusted workers to prepare SERIAL STORIES.\n\nBesides Serial Stories, there will be Short Stories, illustrated;\nEducational Articles in series; Helpful Incidents from the personal\nexperience of the world's best workers.\n\n[Illustration: Young People's Weekly]\n\n\nYOUNG PEOPLE'S SOCIETIES.\n\n_Christian Endeavor_, _Epworth League_, _Baptist Young People's Union_,\n_In His Name_, _Young Men's Christian Association_, _Boys' Brigade_,\nare all given prominent place. 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We have\nin this introduced something which has never before been approached,\nand it is our intention to make this feature pleasing and artistic in\nthe highest degree. Young people, far and near, are expressing great\ndelight over our \"=Young People's Weekly=\" in colors.\n\n\nSUBSCRIPTION PRICE.\n\nSingle subscriptions, =60 cents= a year; to schools and societies, in\nlots of three or more =to one address, 50 cents= a year each.\n\n=SPECIMEN COPIES FREE.=\n\n  ADDRESS:\n  DAVID C. COOK PUBLISHING CO., 36 WASHINGTON STREET, CHICAGO.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\n\nAs noted in the introduction, this is an abridged edition of the\noriginal text, or, as the editors put it, it has \"been thoroughly\nrevised and in parts re-written, all unnecessary repetition appearing\nin the original edition of the book being omitted.\"\n\nItalics are represented with _underscores_, bold with =equal signs=.\n\nAdded table of contents.\n\nInside front cover, added missing second e to \"entitled.\"\n\nSome inconsistent hyphenation (e.g. gate-way vs. gateway) has been\nretained from the original.\n\nPage 1, moved copyright notice higher on page for smoother flow.\n\nPage 3, changed comma to period after \"worshiping Jupiter.\"\n\nPage 6, added missing double quote after \"not a few believe him to be\nIsaiah.\"\n\nPage 7, added missing quote before \"Therefore, repent ye.\"\n\nPage 12, changed double quote to single quote after \"grateful adoration\nof his love.\"\n\nPage 13, changed double quote to single quote after \"foreshadow a life\nof trial and suffering.\"\n\nPage 16, changed \"innocent's bird's escape\" to \"innocent bird's escape.\"\n\nPage 27, added missing comma after \"Your loving\" in signature of LETTER\nXII.\n\nPage 45, added missing open quote before \"But Jesus laid his hand upon\nthe pall.\" Corrected double to single quote after \"son was sick!\"\n\nPage 47, added missing quote before \"I have even heard of his fame.\"\n\nPage 50, added missing quote after \"folds of the curtains.\"\n\nPage 51, corrected double to single quotes after \"Pilate, against thee\"\nand \"Castle of David!\"\n\nPage 52, changed comma to period after \"departure of the messenger to\nJesus.\"\n\nPage 67, corrected \"youthfuf\" to \"youthful\" in \"youthful bride of\nPilate.\"\n\nPage 70, added missing single quote before \"What! Galilean and\nblasphemer.\"\n\nPage 71, removed unnecessary single quote after \"spat in his face\nthrice.\"\n\nPage 92, added missing close quote after \"as if he saw a spirit.\"","title":"The Prince of the House of David","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":78514}