ml 
 
 ^T^ 
 
 -M^
 
 SALATHIEL,^ 
 
 A STORY 
 
 OP 
 
 THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND 
 THE FUTURE. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. GEORGE CROLW 
 
 AUTHOR OF MARSTON, ETC. 
 
 IN THREE V0LU3IES. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 Ncto lEtrition. 
 
 LONDON: 
 HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, 
 
 GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
 1848. 
 
 •• • I 
 
 » ' , *
 
 
 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The remainder of this memorable day lingered on 
 with a tardiness beyond description. The future 
 pressed on my mind with an intolerable weight. 
 The criminal who counts the watches of the night 
 before his execution, has but a faint image of that 
 fierce and yet pining anxiety, that loathing of all 
 things unconnected with the one mighty event, yet 
 that dread of suffering it to dwell upon the mind ; 
 the mixture of hopelessness and hope, the sickly 
 panting of the heart, the tenfold and morbid ner- 
 vousness of every nerve in his frame ; which make 
 
 VOL. II. A 
 
 15'71.18
 
 2 SALATHIEL. 
 
 up the suspense of the conspirator in even the 
 noblest cause. 
 
 When the hour of banquet came, I sat down in 
 the midst of magnificence, as was the custom of 
 my rank; the table was filled with guests; all 
 around me was gaiety and pomp, high-born men, 
 handsome women, richly attired attendants ; plate, 
 the work of Tyrian and Greek artists, in its mas- 
 sive beauty ; walls covered with tissues ; music fil- 
 ling the air cooled by fountains of perfumed waters. 
 I felt as little of them, as if I were in the wilder- 
 ness. The richest wines, the most delicate fruits, 
 palled on my taste. A heaviness, an almost 
 Lethean oblivion of all before my eyes, closed up 
 every feeling ; if I had one wish, it was that for 
 the next forty-eight hours oblivion might amount 
 to insensibility ! At my wife and daughters I Ven- 
 tured but one glance. I thought that I had never 
 before seen them look so fitted to adorn their rank, 
 to be the models of grace, loveliness, and honour 
 to society; and the thought smote my heart in the 
 midst of my contemplation ! — how soon all this 
 may be changed ! Will another sun-set find those 
 lovely and beloved beings here i May they not be 
 fugitives and beggars through the land, or, worse 
 a thousand times, be in the power of the Roman I 
 And this is my doing. Here sit T, in the midst of
 
 SALATHIEL. 3 
 
 this innocent and happy circle, drawing ruin upon 
 their heads, and writing with a cloudy hand the 
 sentence of subversion upon these joyous walls. 
 Here sit I, like the tempter in paradise — to in- 
 volve in my own destruction all that is pure and 
 peaceful, and confiding and happy ! With what 
 terror would they look upon rae, if they could 
 at this instant see the evils that I am sum- 
 moning round them ! — if they could read but my 
 bosom 
 
 My eyes sought Constantius ; he had just re- 
 turned from his preparations, and came in glowing 
 with the enthusiasm of the soldier. He sat down 
 beside Salome, and his cheek gradually turned of 
 the hue of death. He sat, like myself, absorbed 
 in frequent reverie ; and to the playful solicitations 
 of Salome, that he would indulge in the table after 
 his fatigue, he gave forced smiles and broken 
 answers. The future was plainly busy with us 
 both ; with all that the heart of man could love 
 beside him, he felt the pang of contrast ; and, 
 when on accidentally lifting his eyes they met 
 mine, the single conscious look interchanged told 
 the bitter perturbation that preyed on both in the 
 hearts' core. 
 
 I soon rose ; and, on pretence of having letters 
 to despatch to our friends in Rome, retired to my
 
 4 SALATIIIEL. 
 
 chamber. There lay the chart still on the table, 
 marked by the pencil lines of the route to Masada. 
 Heavens ! with what breathlessness I traced every 
 point and bearing* of it ! How eagerly I pursued 
 the mountain paths in which the movement might 
 be concealed ; how anxiously I marked the spaces 
 of open country in which it must be exposed to 
 ihe Roman eye! But the chart itself! There, 
 within a space over which I could stretch my arm, 
 was my world ! In that little boundary was I to 
 struggle against the supremacy that covered the 
 earth ! Those fairy hills, those scarcely visible 
 rivers, those remote cities, dots of human habita- 
 tion, were to be henceforth the places of siege and 
 battle, memorable for the destruction of human 
 life ; engrossing every energy of the mind and 
 frame of myself and my countrymen ; and big with 
 the fates of generations on generations ! 
 
 It was dusk ; and I was still devouring with my 
 eyes this chart of prophecy, when Constantius 
 entered. " I have come," said he gravely, " to 
 bid you farewell for the night. In two days I 
 hope we shall all meet again." 
 
 " No, my brave son," t interrupted. " We do 
 not leave each other to-night." 
 
 He looked surprised. " I must be gone this 
 instant. Eleazar has done his part with the ac-
 
 SALATHIEL. 5 
 
 tivity of his honest and manly mind. Two miles 
 off, in the valley under the date-grove, I have left 
 five hundred of the finest fellows that ever sat a 
 charger. In half an hour Sirius rises ; then we 
 go, and then let the governor of Masada look to 
 it. Farewell, and wish me good fortune." 
 
 " May every angel that protects the righteous 
 cause, hover above your head ! " I exclaimed ; 
 "but, no farewell; for we go together." 
 
 " Do you doubt my conduct of the enterprise ? " 
 pronounced he strongly. " 'Tis true I have been 
 in the Roman service ; but that service I hated 
 from the bottom of my soul. I was a Greek ; and 
 bound to Rome no longer than she could hold me 
 in her chain. If I could have had men to follow 
 me, I should have done in Cyprus what I now do 
 in Judea. The countryman of Leonid as, Cimon, 
 and Timoleon, was not born to hug his slavery. I 
 am now a son of Judea ; to her my affections have 
 been transplanted, and to her, if she does not re- 
 ject me, shall my means and my life be given !" 
 
 He relaxed the belt from his waist, and flung it 
 with his scyniitar on the ground. I lifted it, and 
 gave it again to his hand. 
 
 " No, Constantius," I replied. " I honour your 
 zeal, and would confide in you, if the world hung 
 upon the balance. But I cannot bear the thought
 
 6 SALATHIEL. 
 
 of lingering here, while you are in the field. The 
 misery of suspense is intolerable. My mind, 
 within those few hours, has been on the rack. I 
 must take the chances with you." 
 
 "It is utterly impossible," was his firm answer. 
 " Your absence would excite instant suspicion. 
 The Roman spies are everywhere. The natural 
 result follows, that our march would be intercepted ; 
 and I am not sure, but that even now we may be 
 too late. That inconceivable sagacity by which 
 the Romans seem to be masters of every man's 
 secret, has been already at work ; troops were 
 seen on the route to Masada this very day. Our 
 horses may get before them ; but if the garrison 
 be reinforced, the expedition is undone. But a 
 still more immediate result would be the destruc- 
 tion of all here. Let it be known that the prince 
 of Naphtali has left his palace, and the dozen 
 squadrons of Thracian horse which I saw within 
 those four days at Tiberias, will be riding through 
 your domains before the next sun-set." 
 
 This reflection checked me. " Well then," said 
 I, "go; and the protection of Him whose pillar 
 of cloud led his people through the sea and through 
 the desert, be your shelter and your light in the 
 day of peril ! " 
 
 I pressed his hand ; he turned to depart, but
 
 SALATHIEL. 7 
 
 came back ; and, after a slight hesitation, said — 
 " If Salome had once offended her noble father by 
 her flight, the offence was mine. — Forgive her; 
 for her heart is still the heart of your child. She 
 loves you. If I fall, let the memory of our dis- 
 obedience lie in my grave !" — His voice stopped, 
 and mine could not break the silence. 
 
 " Let what will come," resumed he with an 
 eflort, "tell Salome that the last word on my 
 lips was her beloved name !" He left the chamber, 
 and I felt as if a portion of my being had gone 
 forth from me. 
 
 This day was one of the many festivals of our 
 country, and my halls echoed with sounds of en- 
 joyment. The immense gardens glittered with 
 illumination in all the graceful devices, of which 
 our people were such masters ; and when I looked 
 out for the path of Constantius, I was absolutely 
 pained by the sight of so much fantastic pleasure, 
 while my hero was pursuing his way through dark- 
 ness and solitude. 
 
 At length the festival was over. The lights 
 twinkled thinner among the arbours, the sounds of 
 glad voices sank, and I saw from my casement the 
 evidences of departure in the trains of torches 
 that moved up the surrounding hills. The sight 
 of a starlight sky has always been to me among
 
 8 SALATHIEL. 
 
 the softest and surest healers of the heart ; and I 
 g-azed upon that mighty scene which throws all 
 human cares into such littleness, until my compo- 
 sure returned. 
 
 The last of the guests had left the palace before 
 I ventured to descend. The vases of perfumes 
 still breathed in the hall of the evening banquet ; 
 the alabaster lamps were still burning ; but, ex- 
 cepting the attendants who waited on my steps at 
 a distance, and whose fixed figures might have 
 been taken for statues, there was not a living 
 being near me of the laughing and joyous crowd 
 that had so. lately glittered, danced, sported, and 
 smiled, within those sumptuous walls. Yet, what 
 was this but a picture of the common rotation of 
 life ? Or, by a yet more immediate moral, what 
 was it but a picture of the desertion that might be 
 coming upon me and mine ? 
 
 I sat down to extinguish my sullen philosophy 
 in wine. But no draught that ever passed the lips 
 could extinguish the low fever that brooded on my 
 spirit. I dreaded that the presence of my family 
 might force out m}^ heavy secret, and lingered, 
 with my eyes gazing without sight, on the costly 
 covering of the board. 
 
 A sound of music from an inner hall, to which 
 Miriam and her daughters had retired, aroused me.
 
 SALATHIEL. 9 
 
 I stood at the door, gazing on the group within. 
 The music was a hymn, with which they closed the 
 customary devotions of the day. But there was 
 something in its sound to me that I had never felt 
 before. At the moment when those sweet voices 
 were pouring out the gratitude of hearts as inno- 
 cent and glowing as the hearts of angels, a scene 
 of horror might be acting. The husband of Sa- 
 lome might be struggling under the Roman swords ; 
 he might be lying a corpse under the feet of the 
 cavalry, that before morn might bring the news of 
 his destruction in the flames that startled us from 
 our sleep, and the swords that pierced our bosoms. 
 And what beings were those thus appointed for 
 the sacrifice ? The lapse of even a few years had 
 perfected the natural beauty of my daughters. 
 Salome's sparkling eye was more brilliant; her 
 graceful form was moulded into more easy ele- 
 gance ; and her laughing lip was wreathed with u 
 more playful smile. Never did I see a creature 
 of deeper witchery. My Esther, my noble and 
 dear Esther, who was, perhaps, the dearer to me 
 from her inheriting a tinge of my melancholy, yet 
 a melancholy exalted by genius and ardour of soul 
 into a charm, was this night the leader of the song 
 of holiness. Her large uplifted eye glowed with 
 the brightness of one of the stars on which it was
 
 10 SALATHIEL* 
 
 fixed. Her hands fell on the harp in almost the 
 attitude of prayer; and the expression of her lofty 
 and intellectual countenance, crimsoned with the 
 theme, told of a communion with thoughts and 
 beings above mortality. The hymn was done ; the 
 voices had ceased ; yet the inspiration still burned 
 in her soul ; her hands still shook from the chords 
 harmonies, sweet, but of the wildest and boldest 
 brilliancy ; bursts and flights of sound, like the 
 rushing of the distant waterfall at night, or the 
 solemn echoes and mighty complainings of the 
 forest in the first swell of the storm. Miriam and 
 Salome sat beholding her in silent admiration and 
 love. 
 
 The magnificent dress of the Jewish female 
 could not heighten the power of such beauty. But 
 it filled up the picture. The jewelled tiaras, the 
 embroidered shawls, the high-wrought and massive 
 armlets, the silken robes and sashes fringed with 
 pearl and diamond, the profusion of dazzling orna- 
 ment that makes the Oriental costume to this day, 
 were the true habits of the forms that then sat 
 unconscious of the delighted yet anxious eye that 
 drank in the joy of their presence. I saw before 
 me the pomp of princedoms, investing forms worthy 
 of thrones. 
 
 My entrance broke off the harper's spelt, and I
 
 SALATHIEL. 11 
 
 found it a hard task to answer the fond inquiries 
 and touching congratulations that flowed upon me. 
 But the hour waned, and I v/as again left alone for 
 the few minutes which it was my custom to give 
 to meditation before I retired to rest. I threw 
 open the low door that opened into a garden thick 
 with the Persian rose, and filling the air with cool 
 fragrance. At my first glance upwards I saw 
 Sirius — he was on the verge of the horizon ! The 
 thoughts of the day again gathered over my soul. 
 I idly combined the fate of Constantius with the 
 decline of the star that he had taken for his signal. 
 My senses lost their truth, or contributed to de- 
 ceive me. I fancied that I heard sounds of con- 
 flict ; the echo of horses' feet rang in my ears. A 
 meteor that slowly sailed across the sky, struck me 
 as a supernatural summons. My brain, fearfully 
 excitable since my great misfortune, at length 
 kindled up such strong realities, that I found my- 
 self on the point of betraying the burden of my 
 spirit by some palpable disclosure. 
 
 Twice had I reached the door of Miriam's 
 chamber, to tell her my whole perplexity. But I 
 heard the voices of her attendants within, and 
 again shrank from the tale. I ranged the long 
 galleries, perplexed with capricious and strange 
 torments of the imagination.
 
 12 SALATHIEL. 
 
 " If he should fall," said I, " how shall I atone 
 for the cruelty of sending him upon a service of 
 such hopeless hazard— a few peasants with naked 
 breasts against Roman battlements ! What soldier 
 would not ridicule my folly in hoping success? 
 What man would not charge me with scorn of the 
 life of my kindred? The blood of my tribe will be 
 upon my head for ever. The base will take ad- 
 vantage of their fate to degrade my name with the 
 nation. The brave will disdain him who sent 
 others to the peril which he dared not share. 
 There sinks the prince of Naphtali ! In the grave 
 of my gallant son and his companions is buried my 
 dream of martial honour ; the sword that strikes 
 him, cuts to the ground my lost ambition of deli- 
 vering my country. 
 
 The advice of Constantius returned to my mind, 
 but, like the meeting of two tides, it was only to 
 increase the tumult within. I felt the floor shake 
 under my hurried tread. I smote my forehead — it 
 was covered with drops of agony. The voices 
 within my wife's chamber had ceased. But was I 
 to rouse her from her sleep, perhaps the last quiet 
 sleep that she was ever to take, only to hear in- 
 telligence that must make her miserable? 
 
 This rellection let in upon me a new flood of 
 anxieties. " If misfortune should come, with what
 
 SALATHIEL. 13 
 
 face shall I ever be able to look upon my family, 
 upon the daughter that I have widowed, upon the 
 wife, upon the child, whose sorrow, even whose 
 silence will torture me ? And how long must 1 
 keep my secret? For four days! while I am 
 scarcely able to bear its suspense for an hour." 
 
 I leaned my throbbing forehead upon one of the 
 marble tables, as if to imbibe coolness from the 
 stone. I felt a light hand upon mine. Miriam 
 stood beside me. " Salathiel !" pronounced she 
 in an unshaken voice, " there is something pain- 
 ful on your mind. Whether it be only a duty on 
 your part to disclose it to me, I shall not say ; 
 but if you think me fit to share your happier 
 hours, must I have the humiliation of feeling that 
 I am to be excluded from your confidence in the 
 day when those hours may be darkened I" 
 
 I was silent, for to speak was beyond my strength, 
 but I pressed her delicate fingers to my bosom. 
 
 ** Misfortune, my dear husband," resumed she, 
 " is trivial, but when it reaches the mind. Oh, 
 rather let me encounter it in the bitterest priva- 
 tions of poverty and exile ; rather let me be a 
 nameless outcast to the latest year I have to live, 
 than feel the bitterness of being forgotten by the 
 heart to which, come life or death, mine is bound 
 for ever and ever."
 
 14 SALATHIEL. 
 
 I glanced up at her. Tears dropped on her 
 cheeks ; but her voice was firm. " I have ob- 
 served you," said she, " in deep agitation during 
 the day; but I forebore to press you for the cause. 
 1 have listened now, till long past midnight, to the 
 sound of your feet, to the sound of groans and 
 pangs wrung from your bosom ; nay, to exclama- 
 tions and broken sentences, which have let me 
 most involuntarily into the knowledge that this 
 disturbance arises from the state of our country. 
 I know your noble nature, Salathiel ; and I say to 
 you, in this solemn and sacred hour of danger, 
 follow the guidance of that noble nature." 
 
 I cast my arms about her neck, and imprinted a 
 kiss as true as ever came from human love upon 
 her lips. She had taken a weight from my soul. 
 1 detailed the whole design to her. She listened 
 with many a change from red to pale, and many a 
 tremor of the white hand that lay in mine. When 
 I ceased, the woman in her broke forth in tears 
 and sighs. " Yet," said she, " you must go. 
 Perish the thought, that for the selfish desire of 
 looking even upon you in safety here, I should 
 hazard the dearer honour of my lord. It is right 
 that Judea should make the attempt to shake off 
 her tyranny. It is wise to lose not a moment, 
 when the attempt is fully resolved on. You must
 
 SALATHiEL^ 15 
 
 be the leader, and you must purchase that incom- 
 parable distinction by showing that you possess 
 the qualities of a leader. The people can never 
 be deceived in their own cause. Kings and courts 
 may be deluded into the choice of incapacity ; but 
 the man whom a people will follow from their 
 firesides to the field, must bear the palpable stamp 
 of wisdom, energy, and valour." 
 
 " Admirable being !" I exclaimed, " worthy to 
 be honoured while Israel has a name. Then, I 
 have your consent to follow Constantius. By speed 
 T may reach him before he can have arrived at 
 the object of the enterprise. Farewell, my best 
 beloved — farewell ! " She fell into my arms in a 
 passion of tears. 
 
 She at length recovered, and said, " This is 
 weakness, the mere weakness of surprise. Yes ; 
 go. Prince of Naphtali. No man must take the 
 glory from you. Constantius is a hero; but you 
 must be a king, and more than a king; not the 
 struggler for the baubles of royalty, but for the 
 glories of the rescuer of the people of God. The 
 first blow of the war must not be given by another, 
 dear as he is. The first triumph, the whole tri- 
 umph, must be my lord's." She knelt down, and 
 poured out her soul to Heaven in eloquent suppli- 
 cation for my safety. I listened in homage.
 
 IG SALATHIEL. 
 
 " Now go," sighed she, " and remember, in the 
 day of battle, who will then be in prayer for you. 
 Court no unnecessary peril ; for if you perish, 
 which of us would desire to live !" She again sank 
 upon her knees ; and I in reverent silence de- 
 scended from the gallery.
 
 SALATHIEL. 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 My preparations were quickly made. I di- 
 vested myself of my robes, led out my favourite 
 barb, flung an alhaik over my shoulders, and by 
 the help of my Arab turban might have passed for 
 a courier or a plunderer in any corner of Syria. 
 This was done unseen of any eye ; for the crowd 
 of attendants that thronged the palace in the day, 
 were now stretched through the courts, or on the 
 terraces, fast asleep, under the doubled influence 
 of a day of feasting, and a night of tepid summer 
 air. 
 
 I rode without stopping, till the sun began to 
 throw up his yellow rays through the vapours of 
 the lake of Tiberias. To ascertain alike the pro- 
 gress of Constantius, and the chances of meeting
 
 18 SALATHIEL. 
 
 with some of those Roman squadrons which were 
 perpetually moving- between the fortresses, I struck 
 off the road into a forest, tied my barb to a tree, 
 and set forth to reconnoitre. 
 
 Travelling on foot was the common mode of a 
 country which, like Judea, was but little fitted for 
 the breed of horses ; and I found no want of com- 
 panions. Pedlars, peasants, disbanded soldiers, 
 and probably thieves, diversified my knowledge of 
 mankind within a few miles. I escaped under the 
 sneer of the soldier, and the compassion of the 
 peasant. The first glance at my wardrobe satisfied 
 the robber that I was not worth the exercise of 
 his profession, or perhaps that I was a brother of 
 the trade. But I found none of the repulsiveness 
 that makes the intercourse of higher life so un- 
 productive. Confidence was on every tongue. 
 All the secrets of their families were at my dis- 
 posal ; and I discovered, even in the sandy roads 
 of Palestine, that to be a judicious listener is 
 one of the first talents for popularity all over the 
 world. 
 
 But, of my peculiar objects I could learn no- 
 thing, though every man whom I met had some 
 story of the Romans. I ascertained to my sur- 
 prise, that the intelligence which Septimius brought 
 from the very penetralia of the iiLperial cabinet, was
 
 SALATHIEL. 19 
 
 known to the multitude. Every voice of the po- 
 pulace was full of a tale, which probably was 
 reckoned among the profoundest secrets of the 
 state, I have made the same observation in later 
 leras, and found even in the most formal mysteries 
 of the most fi'owning- governments, the rumour of 
 the streets outrun the cabinets. So it must be, 
 while diplomatists have tongues, and while women 
 and domestics have curiosity. 
 
 But if I were to rely on the accuracy of those 
 willing politicians, the cause of independence was 
 without hope. Human nature loves to make itself 
 important ; and the narrator of the marvellous is 
 always great, according to the distention of his 
 news. Those who had seen a cohort, invariably 
 magnified it into a legion: a troop of cavalry 
 covered half a province ; and the detachments 
 marching from Asia Minor and Egypt for our 
 invasion, were reckoned by the very largest nume- 
 ration within the teller's capacity. 
 
 As I was sitting by a rivulet, moistening some 
 of the common bread of the country, which 1 had 
 brought to aid my disguise, I entered into con- 
 versation with one of those unhoused exiles of 
 society, whom at the first glance we discern to be 
 nature's commoners, indebted to no man for food, 
 raiment, or habitation, the native dweller on the
 
 20 SALATHIEL. 
 
 road. He had some of the habitual jest of those 
 who have no care, and congratulated me on the 
 size of my table, the meadow ; and the unadulte- 
 rated purity of my potation, the brook. He in- 
 formed me that he came direct from the Nile, 
 where he had seen the son of Vespasian at the 
 head of a hundred thousand men. A Syrian 
 soldier, returning to Damascus, who joined 
 our meal, felt indignant at the discredit thus 
 thrown on a general, under whom he had received 
 three pike wounds, and leave to beg his way home. 
 He swore by Ashtaroth, that the force under Titus 
 was at least twice the number. A third wanderer, 
 a Roman veteran, of whom the remainder was 
 covered over with glorious patches, arrived just 
 in time to relieve his general from the disgrace of 
 so limited a command, and another hundred thou- 
 sand was instantly put under his orders ; sanc- 
 tioned by asseverations in the name of Jupiter 
 Capitolinus, and as many others of the calendar 
 as the patriot could pronounce. This rapid re- 
 cruiting threw the former authorities into the 
 back-ground ; and the old legionary was, for the 
 rest of the meal, the undisputed leader of the con- 
 versation. 
 
 ** To suppose," said the veteran, " that those 
 circumcised dogs can stand against a regular-bred
 
 SALATHIEL. 21 
 
 Roman general, is sacrilege. Half his army, or a 
 tenth of his army, would walk through the land, 
 north and south, east and west, as easily as I could 
 walk, through this brook." 
 
 " No doubt of it," said the Syrian, " if they 
 had some of our cavalry for flanking and forag- 
 ing." 
 
 " Aye, for any thing but fighting, comrade," 
 said the Roman with a laugh. 
 
 " No ; you leave out another capital quality," 
 observed the beggar : " for none can deny, that 
 whoever may be first in the advance, the Syrians 
 will be first in the retreat. There are two ma- 
 noeuvres to make a complete soldier — how to get 
 into the battle, and how to get out of it. Now, 
 the Syrians manage the latter in the most un- 
 doubted perfection." 
 
 " Silence, viUain," exclaimed the Syrian, " or 
 you have robbed your last hen-roost." 
 
 " He says nothing but the truth for all that," 
 interrupted the veteran. " But neither of us 
 taxed your cavalry with cowardice. No ; it was 
 pure virtue. They had too much modesty to take 
 the way into the field before other troops ; and too 
 much liumanity not to teach them how to sleep 
 without broken bones."
 
 22 SALATHIEL. 
 
 The beggar, delighted at the prospect of a quar- 
 rel, gave the assent, that more embroils the fray. 
 
 " Mark Antony did not say so," murmured the 
 indignant Syrian. 
 
 "Mark Antony!" cried the Roman, starting 
 upon his single leg ; " glory to his name ! but what 
 could a fellow like you know about Mark Antony ?" 
 
 " I only served with him," di'ily replied the 
 Syrian. 
 
 " Then here's my hand for you," exclaimed the 
 brave old man : "we are comrades. I would love 
 even a dog that had seen the face of Mark An- 
 tony. He was the first man that I ever carried 
 buckler under. Aye, there was a soldier for you ; 
 such men are not made in this puling age. He 
 could fight from morn till night, and carouse from 
 night till morn, and never lose his seat on his 
 charger in the field for the day after. I have seen 
 him run half naked through the snows in Armenia, 
 and walk in armour in the hottest day of Egypt. 
 He loved the soldier, and the soldier loved him. 
 So, comrade, here's to the health of Mark Antony. 
 Ah, we shall never see such men again." 
 
 He drew out a flask of ration wine, closely akin 
 to vinegar, of which he hospitably gave us each a 
 cup; and after pouring a libation to his hero's
 
 SALATHIEL. 23 
 
 memory, whom he evidently placed among his 
 ^ods, swallowed the draught, in which we devout- 
 ly followed his example. 
 
 " Yet," said the beggar, " if Antony were a 
 great man, he has left little men enough behind 
 him. There's, for instance, the present gay pro- 
 curator ; six months in the gout, the other six 
 months drunk, or if sober, only thinking where he 
 can rob next. This will bring the government into 
 trouble before long, or I'm much mistaken. For 
 my part, I pledge myself, if he should take any 
 part of my property— — " 
 
 " Why, if he did," said the Syrian, " I give 
 
 him credit for magic. He would find a crop of 
 wheat in the sand, or coin money of the air. 
 Where is your property ?" 
 
 " Comrade," said the veteran, laughing, " recol- 
 lect ; if the saying be true, that people are least to 
 he judged of by the outside, the rags of our jovial 
 friend must hide many a shekel ; and, as to where 
 his property lies, he has a wide estate who has the 
 world for his portion ; and property enough, who 
 thinks all his own that he can lay his fingers on." 
 
 The laugh was now loud against the beggar. 
 He however bore all like one accustomed to the 
 buffets of fortune; and, joining in it, said, 
 " Whatever may be my talents in that way, there
 
 24 SALATHIEL. 
 
 is no great chance of showing them in this com- 
 pany ; but if you should be present at the sack 
 of Masada, and I should meet you on your way 
 back " 
 
 *' Masada!" exclaimed I instinctively. 
 
 " Yes, I left the town three days ago. On 
 that very morning an order arrived to prepare for 
 the coming of the great and good Florus ; who, 
 in his wisdom, feeling the want of gold, has de- 
 termined to fill up the hollows of the military chest 
 and his own purse, by stripping the armoury of 
 every thing that can sell for money. My intelli- 
 gence is from the best authority. The governor's 
 principal bath-slave told it to one of the damsels of 
 the steward's department, with whom the Ethiopian 
 is mortally in love ; and the damsel, in a moment 
 of tenderness, told it to me. In fact, to let you 
 into my secret, I am now looking out for Florus, 
 in whose train I intend to make my way back into 
 this gold mine." 
 
 " The villain !" cried the veteran, " disturb the 
 arms of the dead ! Why, they say that it has the 
 very corslet and buckler that Mark Antony wore 
 when he marched against the Idumeans." 
 
 " I fear more the disturbance of the arms of 
 the- living," said the Syrian. "The Jews will 
 take it for granted that the Romans are giving
 
 SALATHIEL. 25 
 
 up the business in despair; and if I'm a true man, 
 there will be blood before I get home." 
 
 " No fear of that, fellow soldier," said the vete- 
 ran, gaily ; " you have kept your two legs, and 
 when they have so long carried you out of harm's 
 way, it would be the worst treatment possible to 
 leave you in it at last. But there is something in 
 what you say. I had a dream last night. I 
 thought that I saw the country in a blaze, and 
 when I started from my sleep, my ears were filled 
 with a sound like the trampling of ten thousand 
 cavalry." 
 
 I drew my breath quick ; and, to conceal my 
 emotion, gathered up the fragments of our meal. 
 On completing my work, I found the beggar's eye 
 fixed on me : — he smiled. 
 
 " I too had a dream last night," said he, " and 
 of much the same kind. I thought that I saw a 
 cloud of cavalry riding as fast as horse could lay 
 hoof to ground ; I never saw a more dashing set, 
 since my first campaign upon the highways of this 
 wicked world. I'll be sworn that, whatever their 
 errand may be, such riders will not come back 
 without it. Their horses' heads were turned to- 
 wards Masada, and I am now between two minds 
 whether I may not mention my dream to the pro- 
 curator himself." 
 
 VOL. II. B
 
 26 SALATHIEL. 
 
 I found his keen eye turned on me again. 
 " Absurd!" said I. " He would recommend you 
 only to his lictor." 
 
 " I rather think he would recommend me to his 
 treasurer, for I never had a dream that seemed so 
 like a fact. I should not be surprised to find that 
 I had been sleeping with my eyes open." 
 
 His look convinced me that I was known. I 
 touched his hand, while the soldiers were busy 
 packing up their cups, and showed him gold. He 
 smiled carelessly. I laid my hand on my poniard ; 
 he but smiled again. 
 
 " The sun is burning out," said he, " and I can 
 stand talking here no longer. Farewell, brave 
 soldiers, and safe home to you ! Farewell, Arab, 
 and safe home to those that you are looking after !" 
 He stalked away, and as he passed me, said in a 
 low voice, " Glory to Naphtali!" 
 
 After exchanging good wishes with the old men, 
 I followed him ; he led the way towards the wood 
 at a pace which kept me at a distance. When I 
 reached the shade, he stopped, and prostrated 
 himself before me. 
 
 " Will my lord," said he, " forgive the presump- 
 tion of his servant? This day, when I first met 
 you, your disguise deceived me. I bear intelli- 
 gence from your friends." I caught the fragment
 
 SALATHIEL. ^7 
 
 of papyrus from him, and read : — " All's well. 
 We have hitherto met with nothing to oppose us. 
 To-morrow night we shall be on the ground. If 
 no addition be made to the force within, the sur- 
 prise will be complete. Our cause itself is victory. 
 Health to all we love !" 
 
 " Your mission is now done," said I. " Go on 
 to Naphtali, and you shall be rewarded as your 
 activity has deserved." 
 
 " No," replied he, with the easy air of a licensed 
 humorist, " I have but two things to think of in 
 this world— my time and ray money ; of one of 
 them I have infinitely more than I well know how 
 to spend ; and of the other infinitely less. I ex- 
 pected to have killed a few days in going up to 
 Naphtali. But that hope has been cut off by my 
 finding you half way. I will now try Florus, and 
 get rid of a day or two with that most worthy of 
 men." 
 
 " That I forbid," interrupted I. 
 
 " Not, if you will trust one whom your noble son 
 has trusted. I am not altogether without some 
 dislike to the Romans myself, nor something be- 
 tween contempt and hatred for Gessius Florus.'' 
 His countenance darkened at the name. " I tell 
 you," pronounced he bitterly, " that fellow's pam- 
 pered carcass this day contains as black a mass of
 
 28 SALATHIEL. 
 
 villany as stains the earth. I have an old account 
 to settle with him." 
 
 His voice quivered. " I was once no rambler, 
 no outcast of the land. I lived on the side of 
 Hermon, lovely Hermon ! I was affianced to a 
 maiden of my kindred, as sweet a flower as ever 
 blushed with love and joy. Our bridal day was 
 fixed. I went to Csesarea-Philippi to purchase 
 some marriage presents. When I returned, I 
 found nothing but women weeping, and men furious 
 with impotent rage. My bride was gone. A 
 Roman troop had surrounded her father's house in 
 the night, and torn her away. Wild, distracted, 
 nay, I believe raving mad, I searched the land. I 
 kept life in me only that I might recover or re- 
 venge her. 1 abandoned property, friends, all ! I 
 at length made the discovery." 
 
 To hide his perturbation, he turned away. 
 " Powers of justice and vengeance !" he murmured 
 in a shuflidering tone, " are there no thunders for 
 such things i She had been seen by that hoary 
 profligate. She was carried off" by him. She 
 spurned his insults. He ordered her to be chaint^d, 
 to be starved, to be lashed !" 
 
 Tears burst from his eyes. — " She still spurned 
 him. She implored to die. She called upon my 
 name in her misery. — Wretch that I was, what
 
 SALATHIEL. 29 
 
 could I, a worm, do under the heel of the tyrant ? 
 — But I saw her at last : — I made my way into the 
 dungeon. There sat she, pale as the stone to 
 which she was chained ; a silent, sightless, blood- 
 less, mindless skeleton. I called to her : she 
 knew nothing. I pressed my lips to hers : she 
 never felt them. I bathed her cold hands in my 
 tears — I fell at her feet — I prayed to her but to 
 pronounce one word ; to give some sign of remem- 
 brance ; to look on me. She sat like a statue ; 
 her reason was gone, gone for ever !" 
 
 He flung himself upon the ground, and writhed 
 and groaned before me. To turn him from a sub- 
 ject of such sorrow, I asked what he meant to do 
 by his intercourse with Florus. 
 
 " To do? — not to stab him in his bed; not to 
 poison him in his banquet ; not to smite him with 
 that speedy death, which would be mercy ; — no, 
 but to force him into ruin step by step ; to gather 
 shame, remorse, and anguish round him, cloud on 
 cloud ; to mix evil in his cup with such exquisite 
 slowness, that he shall taste every drop ; to strike 
 him only so far, that he may feel the pang without 
 being stunned ; to mingle so much of hope in his 
 undoing, that he may never enjoy the vigour of 
 despair ; to sink him into his own Tartarus inch by
 
 30 SALATHIEL. 
 
 inch, till every fibre has its particular agony." He 
 yelled, suddenly rose from the ground, and rushed 
 forward and threaded the thickets with swiftness 
 that made pursuit in vain.
 
 SALATHIEL. 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The violence of the beggar's anguish, and the 
 strong probabilities of his story engrossed me so 
 much, that I at first regretted the extraordinary 
 flight, which put it out of my power to offer him 
 any assistance. I returned with a feeling of dis- 
 appointment to the spot where I had left my horse, 
 and was riding towards the higher country to avoid 
 the enemy's straggling parties, when I heard a loud 
 outcry. On a crag so distant, that 1 thought 
 human speed could scarcely have reached it in the 
 time, I saw this strange being making all kinds of 
 signals, sometimes pointing to me, then to some 
 object below him ; and uttering a cry which might 
 easily be mistaken for the howl of a wild beast. 
 I reined up ; it was impossible for me to ascer-
 
 •32 SALATHIEL. 
 
 tain whether he were warning me of the neigh- 
 bourhood of danger, or apprising others of my 
 approach ; or even, from the nature of his cries, 
 preparing me for an assault by a troop of pan- 
 thers. Great stakes make man suspicious ; and 
 the Prince of Naphtali, speeding to the capture of 
 the principal place of arms of the legions, might be 
 an object well worth a little treachery. I rapidly 
 forgot the beggar's sorrows in the consideration of 
 his habits ; decided that his harangue was a piece 
 of professional dexterity, probably played off every 
 week of his life ; and that, if I would not be in 
 Roman hands before night, I must ride in the 
 precisely opposite direction to that which his sig- 
 nals so laboriously recommended. 
 
 Nothing grows with more vigour than the doubt 
 of human honesty. I satisfied myself in a few 
 moments that I was a dupe ; dashed through 
 thicket, over rock, forded torrent, and, from the 
 top of an acclivity at which even my high-mettled 
 steed had looked with repugnance, saw, with the 
 triumph of him who deceives the deceiver, the 
 increased violence of the impostor's attitudes. He 
 leaped from crag to crag with the activity of a 
 goat; and when he could do nothing else, gave 
 the last evidence of Oriental vexation, by tearing 
 his robes. I waved my hand to him in cohtemp-
 
 SALATHIEL. 33 
 
 tuous farewell ; and dismounting, for the side of 
 the hill was almost precipitous, led my panting 
 Arab through beds of myrtle, and every lovely 
 and sweet-smelling bloom, to the edge of a valley, 
 that seemed made to shut out every disturbance of 
 man. 
 
 A circle of low hills, covered to the crown with 
 foliage, surrounded a deep space of velvet turf, 
 kept green as the emerald by the flow of rivulets, 
 and the moisture of a pellucid lake in the centre, 
 tinged with every colour of the heavens. The 
 beauty of this sylvan spot was enhanced by the 
 luxuriant profusion of almond, orange, and other 
 trees, that in every stage of production, from the 
 bud to the fruit, covered the little knolls below, 
 and formed a broad belt round the lake. 
 
 Parched as I was by the intolerable heat, this 
 secluded haunt of the very spirit of freshness looked 
 doubly lovely. My eyes, half blinded by the glare 
 of the sands, and even my mind exhausted by the 
 perplexities of the day, found delicious relaxation 
 in the verdure and dewy breath of the silent valley. 
 My barb, with the quick sense of animals accus- 
 tomed to the travel of the wilderness, showed her 
 delight by playful boundings, the prouder arching 
 of her neck, and the brighter glancing of her 
 bright eye.
 
 34 SALATHIEL. 
 
 " Here," thought I, as I led her slowly towards 
 the steep descent, " would be the very spot for 
 the innocence that had not tried the world, or the 
 philosophy that had tried it, and found all vanity. 
 Who could dream that, within the borders of this 
 distracted land, in the very hearing-, almost within 
 the very sight of the last miseries that man can 
 inflict on man, there was a retreat, which the foot 
 of man perhaps never yet defiled ; and in which 
 the calamities that afflict society might be as little 
 felt as if it were among the stars ! " 
 
 A violent plunge of the barb put an end to my 
 speculation. She exhibited the wildest signs of 
 terror, snorted, and strove to break from me; then 
 fixing her glance keenly on the thickets below, 
 shook in every limb. Yet, the scene was tran- 
 quillity itself; the chameleon lay basking in the 
 sun, and the only sound was that of the wild 
 doves murmuring under the broad leaves of the 
 palm-trees. 
 
 But my mare still resisted every effort to lead 
 her downwards ; her ears were fluttering con- 
 vulsively; her e^es were starting from their sockets. 
 T grew peevish at the animal's unusual obstinacy, 
 and was about to let her sufler thirst for the day, 
 when my senses were paralyzed by a tremendous 
 roar. A lion stood on the summit which 1 had
 
 SALATHIEL. 35 
 
 but just quitted. He was not a dozen yards above 
 my head, and his first sprinp^ must have carried 
 me to the bottom of the precipice. The barb 
 burst away at once. I drew the only weapon I 
 had, a dagger, — and, hopeless as escape was, 
 grasping the tangled weeds to sustain my footing, 
 awaited the plunge. But the lordly savage pro- 
 bably disdained so ignoble a prey, and continued 
 on the summit, lashing his sides with his tail, and 
 tearing up the ground. He at length stopped 
 suddenly, listened, as to some approaching foot, 
 and then, with a hideous yell, sprang over me, and 
 was in the thicket below at a single bound. 
 
 The whole thicket was instantly alive ; the 
 shade which I had fixed on for the seat of un- 
 earthly tranquillity, was an old haunt of lions; and 
 the mighty herd were now roused from their noon- 
 duy slumbers. Nothing could be grander or more 
 terrible than this disturbed majesty of the forest 
 kings. In every variety of savage passion, from 
 terror to fury, they plunged, and tore, and yelled ; 
 dashed through the lake, burst through the thicket, 
 rushed up the hills, or stood baying and roaring 
 in defiance against the coming invader; the num- 
 bers were immense, for the rareness of shade and 
 water had gathered them from every quarter of 
 the desert.
 
 36 SALATHIEL. 
 
 While I stood clinging to my perilous hold, and 
 fearful of attracting their gaze by the slightest 
 movement, the source of the commotion appeared, 
 in the shape of a Roman soldier issuing, spear in 
 baud, through a ravine at the further side of the 
 valley. He was palpably unconscious of the for- 
 midable place into which he was entering ; and 
 the gallant clamour of voices through the hills, 
 showed that he was followed by others as bold and 
 unconscious of their danger as himself. 
 
 But his career soon closed ; his horse's feet had 
 scarcely touched the turf, when a lion was fixed 
 with fangs and claws on the creature's loins. The 
 rider uttered a cry of horror, and for the instant, 
 sat helplessly gazing at the open jaws behind him. 
 I saw the lion gathering up his flanks for a second 
 bound ; but the soldier, a figure of gigantic strength, 
 grasping the nostrils of the monster with one hand, 
 and, with the other shortening his spear, drove 
 the steel at one resistless thrust into the lion's 
 forehead. Horse, lion, and rider fell, and con- 
 tinued struggling together. 
 
 In the next moment, a mass of cavalry came 
 thundering down the ravine. They had broken 
 off from their march, through the accident of rous- 
 ing a straggling lion, and followed him in the giddy 
 ardour of the chase. But the sight now before
 
 SALATHIEL. 37 
 
 them was enough to appal the boldest intrepidity. 
 The valley was filled with the vast herd ; retreat 
 was impossible, for the troopers came still pouring 
 in by the only pass, and, from the sudden descent 
 of the glen, horse and man were rolled head fore- 
 most among the lions ; neither man nor monster 
 could retreat. The conflict was horrible ; the 
 heavy spears of the legionaries plunged through 
 bone and brain ; the lions, made more furious by 
 wounds, sprang upon the powerful horses and tore 
 them to the ground, or flew at the troopers' throats, 
 and crushed and dragged away cuirass and buckler. 
 The valley was a struggling heap of human and 
 savage battle ; man, lion, and charger, writhing 
 and rolling in agonies, till their forms were undis- 
 tinguishable. The groans and cries of the legion- 
 aries, the screams of the mangled horses, and the 
 roars and bowlings of the lions bleeding with 
 sword and spear, tearing the dead, darting up the 
 sides of the hills in terror, and rushing down again 
 with the fresh thirst of gore, baffled all conception 
 of fury and horror. 
 
 But man was the conqueror at last ; the sa- 
 vages, scared by the spear, and thinned in their 
 numbers, made a rush in one body towards the 
 ravine, overthrew every thing in their way, and 
 
 X*J / J_^.c^
 
 38 SALATHIEL. 
 
 burst from the valley, awaking the desert for many 
 a league with their roar. 
 
 The troopers, bitterly repenting their rash ex- 
 ploit, gathered up the remnants of their dead on 
 litters of boughs, and, leaving many a gallant steed 
 to feast the vultures, slowly retired from the place 
 of carnage. 
 
 The spot to which I clung, made ascent or 
 descent equally difficult ; and during this extraor- 
 dinary contest I continued imbedded in the foliage, 
 and glad to escape the eye of man and brute alike. 
 But the troop were gone ; beneath me lay nothing 
 but a scene of blood, and I began to wind my way 
 to the summit. A menace from below stopped me. 
 A solitary horseman had galloped back to give a 
 last look to this valley of death ; he saw me climb- 
 ing the hill, saw that I was not a Roman, and, in 
 the irritation of the hour, made no scruple of sacri- 
 ficing a native to the manes of his comrades. The 
 spear followed his words, and ploughed the ground 
 at my side. His outcry brought back a dozen of 
 his squadron ; J found myself about to be assailed 
 by a general discharge ; escape on foot was impos- 
 sible ; and I had no resource but to descend and 
 give myself up to the soldiery. 
 
 It was to warn me of this hazard that the signals
 
 SALATHIEL. 39 
 
 of my strange companion were made. He saw the 
 advance of the Roman column along the plain. 
 My suspicions of his honesty drove me directly 
 into their road, and the chance of turning down 
 the valley scarcely retarded the capture. On my 
 first emerging from the hills I must have been 
 taken. However, my captors were in unusual ill- 
 temper. As an Arab, too poor to be worth plun- 
 dering or being made prisoner, I should have met 
 only a sneer or an execration, and been turned 
 loose ; but the late disaster made the turban and 
 alhaik odious, and I was treated with the wrath 
 due to a fellow-conspirator of the lions. 
 
 To my request, that I should be suffered to de- 
 part in peace on my business, the most prompt 
 denial was given ; the story that I told to account 
 for my travel in the track of the column, was 
 treated with the simplest scorn ; I was pronounced 
 a spy, and fairly told that my head was my own 
 only till I gave the procurator whatever informa- 
 tion it contained. 
 
 Yet T found one friend in this evil state of my 
 expedition. My barb, which I had given up for 
 lost in the desert, or torn by the wild beasts, ap- 
 peared on the heights overhanging our march, and 
 by snuffing the wind, and bounding backwards and 
 forwards through the thickets, attracted general
 
 40 SALATHIEL. 
 
 attention. I claimed her, and the idea that the 
 way-sore and rough-clothed prisoner could be the 
 master of so noble an animal, raised scorn to its 
 most peremptory pitch. In turn I demanded per- 
 mission to prove my right ; and called the barb. 
 The creature heard the voice with the most obvious 
 delight, bounded towards me, rubbed her head to 
 my feet, and by every movement of dumb joy 
 showed that she had found her master. 
 
 But my requests for dismissal were idle ; I 
 talked to the winds ; the rear squadrons of the 
 column were in sight ; there was no time to be 
 lost. I was suffered to mount the barb, but her 
 bridle was thrown across the neck of one of the 
 trooper's horses, and I was marched along to death, 
 or a tedious captivity. 
 
 My blood boiled, when I thought of what was 
 to be done before the dawn. " What would be 
 expected from me by my people, and how lame 
 and impotent must my excuse fall on the public 
 ear; how miserable a proof had I given of the 
 vigilance and vigour that were to claim the com- 
 mand of armies !" I gnashed my teeth, and writh- 
 ed in every nerve. My agitation at length caught 
 the eye of a corpulent old captain, whose good- 
 humoured visage was coloured by the deepest in- 
 fusion of the grape. His strong Thracian charger
 
 SALATHIEL. 41 
 
 was a moveable magazine of the choicest Fal ernian ; 
 out of every crevice of his packsaddle and accou- 
 trements peeped the head of a flask ; and to judge 
 bv his frequent recourse to his stores, no man was 
 less inclined to carry his baggage for nothing. Po- 
 pularity too attended upon the captain, and a group 
 of young patricians attached to the Procurator's 
 court were content to abate of their rank, and ride 
 along with the old soldier, in consideration of his 
 better knowledge of the grand military science of 
 providing for the road. 
 
 In the midst of some camp story, which the 
 majority received with peals of applause, the cap- 
 tain glanced upon me ; and, asking, " whether I 
 was not ill," held out his flask. I took it, and 
 never did I taste draught so delicious. Thirst and 
 hunger are the true secrets of luxury. I absolutely 
 felt new life rushing into me with the wine. 
 
 " There," said the old man, " see how the 
 fellow's eye sparkles. Falernian is the doctor, 
 after all. I have had no other these forty years. 
 For hard knocks, hard" watches, and hard weather, 
 there is nothing like the true juice of the vine. 
 Try it again, Arab." I declined the offer in civil 
 terms. 
 
 " There," said he, "it has made the man elo- 
 quent. By Hercules, it would put a tongue into
 
 42 SALATHIEL. 
 
 the dumb animals. I warrant it would make that 
 mare speak. And now that I look at her, she is 
 as prettily made a creature as I have seen in 
 Syria ; her nose would fit in a drinking-cup. 
 What is her price, at a word I" 
 
 I answered him, that "she was not to be sold." 
 
 " Well, well, say no more about it," replied the 
 jovial old man. " T know you Arabs make as 
 much of a mare as of a child, and I never meddle 
 in family affairs." 
 
 A haughty-looking tribune, covered with em- 
 broidery, and the other coxcombry of the court 
 soldier, spurred his foaming charger between us, 
 and uttered with a sneer, — " What, captain, by 
 Venus and all the Graces, giving this beggar a 
 lecture in philosophy, or a lesson in politeness ? If 
 you will not have the mare, I will. Dismount, 
 slave !" 
 
 The officers gathered to the front, to see the 
 progress of the affair. I sat silent. 
 
 "Slave! do you hear? Dismoimt ! You will 
 lose nothing, for you will steal another in the first 
 field you come to." 
 
 " I know but one race of robbers in Judea," 
 replied I. 
 
 The old captain reined up beside me, and said, 
 in a whisper — " Friend, let him have the mare.
 
 SALATHTEL. 43 
 
 He is rich, and will pay you handsomely; and 
 powerful besides, for he is the nephew of the 
 procurator. It will not be wise in you to put him 
 in a passion." 
 
 " That fellow shall never have her, though he 
 were to coin these sands into gold," replied I. 
 
 " Do you mean to call us robbers?" said the 
 tribune, with a lowering eye. 
 
 " Do you mean to stop me on the highway, and 
 take my property from me, and expect that I shall 
 call you anything else ?" was the answer. 
 
 " Sententious rogues, those Arabs ! Every soul 
 of them has a point or a proverb on his tongue ;" 
 murmured the captain to the group of young men, 
 who were evidently amused by seeing their unpo- 
 pular companion entangled with me. 
 
 " Slave!" said the tribune fiercely, " we must 
 have no more of this. You have been found 
 lurking about the camp. Will you be hanged for 
 a spy J 
 
 " A spy !" said I, and the insult probably 
 coloured my cheek, "No; a spy has no business 
 among the Romans." 
 
 " So," observed the captain, *' the Arab seems 
 to think that our pi'oceedings are in general pretty 
 palpable. Slay, strip, and burn." He turned to 
 the patrician tribune. — " The fellow is not worth
 
 44 SALATHIEI.. 
 
 our trouble. Shall I let him go about his busi- 
 ness ?" 
 
 " Sir," said the tribune, angrily, " it is your 
 business to command your troop, and be silent." 
 The old man bit his lip, and fell back to the line 
 of his men. My taunter reined up beside me 
 again. " Do you know, robber, that I can order 
 you to be speared on the spot for your lies ?" 
 
 " No ; for I have told you nothing but the 
 truth of both of us. Such an order too would 
 only prove that men will often bid others do, what 
 they dare not touch with a finger of their own." 
 
 The officers, offended at the treatment of their 
 old favourite, burst into a laugh. The coxcomb 
 grew doubly indignant. ' 
 
 " Strip the hound," exclaimed he to the sol- 
 diers: " it is money that makes him insolent." 
 
 •' Nature has done it at least for one of us, 
 without the expense of a mite;" replied I, calmly. 
 
 " Off with his turban! Those fellows carry 
 coin in every fold of it." 
 
 The officers looked at each other in surprise; 
 the captain hardly suppressed a contemptuous ex- 
 ecration between his lips. The very troopers he- 
 sitated. 
 
 " Soldiers !" said T, in the same unaltered tone, 
 " I have no gold in my turban. An Arab is sel-
 
 SALATHIEL. 45 
 
 dom one of those — the outside of whose head is 
 better worth than the in." 
 
 The perfumed and curled locks of the tribune, 
 surmounted by a helmet, sculptured and plumed 
 in the most extravagant style, caught every eye; 
 and the shaft, slight as it was, went home. 
 
 " I'll pluck the robber off his horse by the 
 beard ;" exclaimed the tribune, spurring his horse 
 upon me, and advancing his hand. 
 
 T threw open my robe, grasped my dagger, and 
 sternly pronounced — " There is an oath in our 
 line, that the man who touches the beard of an 
 Arab, dies." He was not prepared for the action ; 
 hesitated, and finally wheeled from me. The old 
 captain burst out into an involuntary huzza ! 
 
 " Take the beggar to the camp ;" said the tri- 
 bune, as he rode away. " I hate all scoundrels ;" 
 and he glanced round the spectators. 
 
 " Then," exclaimed I, after him, as a parting 
 blow, " you have at least one virtue, for you can 
 never be charged with self-love." 
 
 This woman-war made me popular on the spot. 
 The tribune had no sooner turned his horse's head, 
 than the oflQcers clustered together in laughter. 
 Even the iron visages of the troopers relaxed into 
 grim smiles. The old jocular captain was the only 
 one still grave.
 
 46 SALATHIEL. 
 
 " There rides not this day under the canopy of 
 Heaven," murmured he, " a greater puppy than 
 Caius Sempronius Catulus, tribune of the thir- 
 teenth legion, by his mother's morals, and the 
 Emperor's taste. Why did not the coxcomb stay 
 at home, and show off his trappings among the 
 supper-eaters of the Palatine? He might have pow- 
 dered his ringlets with gold-dust, washed his lily 
 hands in rose-water, and perfumed his Indian 
 handkerchief with myrrh, as well there as here ; 
 for he does nothing else. Except," and he 
 clenched the heavy hilt of his falchion, " insult 
 men, who have seen more battles than he has seen 
 years ; who know better service than figuring in 
 ball-rooms, or bowing in courts ; and the least 
 drop of whose blood is worth all that will ever run 
 in his effeminate veins. But I have not done with 
 him yet. As for you, friend," said he, " I am 
 sorry to stop you on your way. But as this affair 
 will be magnified by that fool's tongue, you must 
 be brought to the procurator. However, the 
 camp is only a few miles off; you will be asked a 
 few questions, and then left to follow your wilU" 
 He little dreamed how I recoiled from that inter- 
 view. 
 
 To shorten the time of my delay, the good- 
 natured old man ordered the squadron to mend 

 
 SALATHIEL. 47 
 
 their pace ; and in half an hour we saw the noon- 
 encampment of my sworn enemy, lifting its white 
 tops and scarlet Hags among the umbrage of a 
 forest, deep in the valley at our feet.
 
 48 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The squadron drew up at the entrance of the 
 procurator's tent ; and, with a crowd of alarmed 
 peasants captured in the course of the day, I was 
 delivered over to be questioned by this man of 
 terror. The few minutes which passed before I 
 was called to take my turn, were singularly pain- 
 ful. This was not fear ; for the instant sentence 
 of the axe would have been almost a relief from 
 the hopeless and fretful thwartings sown so thickly 
 ill my path. But to have embarked in a noble 
 enterprise, and to perish, without use; to have 
 arrived almost within sight of the point of my 
 desires, and then, without striking a blow, to be 
 given up to shame, stung me like a serpent. 
 
 My heart sprang to my iips, when I heard 
 
 {
 
 SALATHIEL. 49 
 
 myself called to the presence of Florus. He was 
 lying- upon a couch, with his never-failing cup 
 before him, and turning over some papers, with a 
 shaking hand. Care or conscience had made 
 ravages in him, since I saw him last. He was 
 still the same figure of excess ; but his cheek was 
 hollow : the few locks on his head had grown a 
 more snowy white ; and the little, pampered hand 
 was thin and yellow as the claw of the vulture that 
 he so much resembled in his soul. 
 
 With his head scarcely lifted from the table, 
 and with eyes that seemed more shut than open, 
 he asked, " whence I had come, and whither I 
 was going?" My voice, notwithstanding the 
 attempt to disguise it, struck his acute ear. His 
 native keenness was awake at once. He darted a 
 fiery glance at me, and, striking his hand on the 
 table, exclaimed — " By Hercules, it is the Jew !" 
 My altered costume again perplexed him. " Yet," 
 said he in soliloquy, " that fellow went to Nero, 
 and must have been executed. Ho ! send in the 
 tribune who took him." Catulus entered ; and his 
 account of me was, luckily, contemptuous in the 
 extreme. I was •' a notorious robber, who had 
 stolen a handsome horse, perfectly worthy of the 
 stud of the procurator." I panted with the hope 
 of escape, and was gradually moving to the door. 
 VOL. ir. c
 
 60 SALATHIEL. 
 
 "Stand, slave!" cried Florus: "I have my 
 doubts of you still ; and as the public safety admits 
 of no mistake, I have no alternative. Tribune ! 
 order in the lictors. He must be scourged to 
 confession." The lictors were summoned ; and I 
 was to be torn by Roman torturers. 
 
 A tumult arose outside, and a man rushed in 
 with the lictors, exclaiming", " Justice, most mighty 
 Florus ! By the majesty of Rome, and the mag- 
 nanimity of the most illustrious of governors, I 
 call for justice against my plunderer, my undoer, 
 the robber of the son of £1 Hakim of his most 
 precious treasure." 
 
 Florus recognised the clamourer as an old 
 acquaintance, and desired him to state his com- 
 plaint, and with as much brevity as possible. 
 
 ** Last night," said the man, " I was the happy 
 possessor of a mare, fleet as the ostrich, and 
 shapely as the face of beauty. I had intended her 
 as a present for the most illustrious of procurators, 
 the great Florus, whom the gods long preserve ! 
 In the hour of my rest, the spoiler came, noiseless 
 as the fall of the turtle's feather, but cruel as the 
 viper's tooth. When I arose, the mare was gone. 
 I was in distraction. I tore my beard ; I beat 
 my head upon the ground ; I cursed the robber 
 wherever he went, to the sun-rising or the sun- 
 
 
 i
 
 SALATHIEL. 51 
 
 setting, to the mountains or the valleys. But 
 fortune sits on the banner of my lord the procura- 
 tor ; and I came for hope to his conquering feet. 
 In passing through the camp, what did I see but 
 ray treasure — the delight of my eyes, the drier up 
 of my tears! I have come to claim justice, and 
 the restoration of my mare, that I may have the 
 happiness to present her to the most renowned of 
 mankind." 
 
 I had been occupied with the thought, whether 
 I should burst through the lictors, or rush on the 
 procurator. But the length and loudness of this 
 outcry engrossed every one. The orator was my 
 friend, the beggar. He pointed fiercely to me. 
 If looks could kill, he would not have survived the 
 look that I gave the traitor in return. 
 
 " There," said Florus, " is your plunderer. 
 Sabat, have you ever seen him before ?" 
 
 The beggar strode insolently towards me. " Seen 
 him before ! aye, a hundred times. What ! Ben 
 Amnion, the most notorious thief from the Nile 
 to the Jordan. My lord, every child knows him. 
 Hah, by the gods of my fathers, by my mother's 
 bosom, by shaft and by shield, he has stolen more 
 horses within the last twenty years, than would 
 remount all the cavalrv from Beersheba to Da-
 
 52 SALATHIEL. 
 
 mascus ! It was but last night that I was lead- 
 ing- my mare, the gem of ray eyes, my pearl — " 
 
 I now began to perceive the value of my elo- 
 quent friend's interposition. 
 
 " An Arab horse-thief? — that alters the case," 
 said the procurator. " Ho ! did you not say that 
 the mare was intended for me? Lictor, go and 
 bring this wonder to the door." 
 
 The voluble son of El Hakim followed the 
 lictor ; and returned, crying out more furiously 
 than before against me. His " pearl, the delight 
 of his eyes, was spoiled — was utter unmanage- 
 able. I had put some of my villainous enchant- 
 ments upon her ; for which I was notorious." 
 
 The procurator's curiosity was excited : he rose, 
 and went to take a view of the enchanted animal. 
 I followed ; and certainly nothing could be more 
 singular than the restiveness which the son of El 
 Hakim contrived to make her exhibit. She 
 plunged — she bounded ; bit, reared, and flung out 
 in all directions. Every attempt to lead or mount 
 her was foiled in the most complete yet most 
 ludicrous manner. The young cavalry officers 
 came from all sides, and could not be restrained 
 from boisterous laughter, even by the presence of 
 the procurator. Floras himself, at last, became
 
 SALATHIEL. 53 
 
 among the loudest. Even I, accustomed as I was 
 to daring horsemanship, was surprised at the ec- 
 centric agility of this unlucky rider. He was 
 alternately on the animal's back and under her 
 feet ; he sprang upon her from behind ; he sprang 
 over her head ; he stood upon the saddle ; but all 
 in vain : he had scarcely touched her, when she 
 threw him up in the air again, amid the perpetual 
 roar of the soldiery. 
 
 At length, with a look of dire disappointment, 
 he gave up the task ; and, scarcely able to drag 
 his limbs along, prostrated himself before Florus, 
 praying that he would order the Arab thief to 
 unsay the spells that had turned " the gentlest 
 mare in the world into a wild beast." The consent 
 was given with a haughty «od ; and I advanced to 
 play my part in a performance, of whose objects I 
 had not a conception. The orator delivered the 
 barb to me with a look so expressive of cunning, 
 sport, and triumph, that, perplexed as 1 was, I 
 could not avoid a smile. My experiment was 
 rapidly made. The mare knew me, and was 
 tractable at once. This only confirmed the charge 
 of my necromancy. But the son of El Hakim 
 professed himself altogether dissatisfied with so 
 expeditious a process, and demanded that I should 
 go through the regular steps of the art. In the
 
 54 SALATHIEL. 
 
 midst of the fiercest reprobation of my unhallowed 
 dealings, a whisper from him put me in possession 
 of his mind. 
 
 I now went through the process used by the 
 travelling jugglers; and if the deepest attention 
 of an audience could reward my talents, mine re- 
 ceived unexampled reward. My gazings on the 
 sky, whisperings in the barb's ear, grotesque figures 
 traced on the sand, wild gestures and mysterious 
 jargon, thoroughly absorbed the intellects of the 
 honest legionaries. If I had been content with 
 fame, I might have spread my reputation through 
 the Roman camps, as a conjuror of the first mag- 
 nitude. 
 
 I was, however, beginning to be weary of my 
 exhibition, and longed for the signal ; when Sabat 
 approached, and loudly testifying that I had clearly 
 performed my task, threw the bridle over the 
 animal's head, and whispered, " Now !" 
 
 My heart panted ; my hand was on the mane : 
 I glanced round to see that all was safe before I 
 gave the spring — when Florus screamed out, " The 
 Jew ! by Tartarus, it is the Jew himself. Drag 
 down the circumcised dog." With cavalry on 
 every side of me, forcible escape was out of the 
 question. 
 
 " Undone, undone!" were the words of my wild
 
 SALATHIEL. 55 
 
 friend as he passed me. And when I saw him 
 once more in the most earnest conversation with 
 Floras, I concluded that the discovery was com- 
 plete. I was in utter despair. I stood sullenly 
 waiting for the worst, and gave an internal curse 
 to the more than malevolence of fortune. 
 
 The conversation continued so long, that the 
 impatience of those round me began to break out. 
 
 " On what possible subject can the procurator 
 suffer that mad fellow to have so long an au-. 
 dience?" said a young patrician. 
 
 " On every possible subject, I should conceive, 
 from the length of the discussion," was the reply, 
 
 " Florus knows his man," said a third; " that 
 mad fellow is a regular spy, and receives more of 
 the Emperor's coin in a month, than we do in a 
 year." 
 
 The tribune now broke into the circle, and, with 
 a look of supreme scorn, affectedly exclaimed, 
 " Come, knight of the desert, sovereign of the 
 sands, let us have a specimen of your calling. 
 Stand back, officers; this egg of Ishmael is to quit 
 plunder so soon, that he would probably like to 
 die as he lived — in the exercise of his trade. Here, 
 slave, show us the most approved method of get- 
 ting possession of another man's horse." 
 
 I stood in indignant silence. The tribune threat-
 
 56 SALATHIEL. 
 
 ened. A thought struck me : I bowed to the com- 
 mand, let the barb loose, and proceeded according 
 to my theory of horse-stealing. 
 
 I approached noiselessly, gesticulated, made 
 mystic movements, and gibbered witchcraft as be- 
 fore. The animal, with natural docility, suffered 
 my experiments. I continued urging her towards 
 the thinner side of the circle. " Now, noble Ro- 
 mans," said I, " look carefully to the next spell, 
 for it is the triumph of the art." 
 
 Curiosity was in every countenance. I made a 
 g-enuflexion to the four points of the compass, de- 
 voted a gesture of peculiar solemnity to the pro- 
 curator's tent, and while all eyes were drawn in 
 that direction, sprang on the barb's back, and was 
 gone like an arrow. 
 
 I heard a clamour of surprise, mingled with 
 outrageous laughter, and, looking round, saw the 
 whole crowd of the loose riders of the encampment 
 in full pursuit up the hill. Florus was at his tent 
 door, pointing towards me with furious gestures. 
 The trumpets were calling, the cavalry mounting : 
 I had roused the whole activity of the little array. 
 
 The slope of the valley was long and steep ; and 
 the heavy horsemanship of the legionaries, who 
 were perhaps not very anxious for my capture, 
 soon threw them out. A little knot of the more
 
 SALATHIEL. 57 
 
 zealous alone kept up a pursuit, from which I had 
 no fears. An abrupt rock in the middle of the 
 ascent at length hid them from me. To gain a 
 last view of the camp, I doubled round the rock, 
 and saw, a few yards below me, the tribune, with 
 his horse completely blown. I owed him a debt, 
 partly on my own account, and partly on that of the 
 old captain, which I had determined to discharge at 
 the earliest possible time. I darted upon him. 
 He was all astonishment : a single buffet from ray 
 naked hand knocked the helpless taunter off his 
 charger. " Tribune," cried I, as he lay upon the 
 ground, " you have had one specimen of my art 
 to-day, now you shall have another. Learn in fu- 
 ture to respect an Arab." T caught his horse's 
 bridle, gave the animal a lash, and we bounded 
 away together. The scene was visible to the whole 
 camp ; the troopers, who had reined up on the 
 declivity, gave a roar of merriment, and I heard 
 the old corpulent captain's laugh above it all.
 
 58 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 I HAD escaped ; but the delay was ruinous. 
 The sun sank when I reached the brow of the moun- 
 tain, and Masada lay many a weary mile for- 
 ward. I cast off the tribune's horse, thus giving 
 his insolent master evidence that I did not under- 
 stand the main point of my trade, and stood pon- 
 dering to what point of the mighty ridge that rose 
 blue along the horizon, 1 should turn ; when, in 
 the plunge of the horse, as he felt himself at liberty, 
 his saddle came to the ground. The possibility of 
 its containing reports of the state of the enemy led 
 me to examine its pockets ; they were stuffed with 
 letters worthy of the highest circles of Italian high 
 life; the ill-spelled registers of vapidity at a loss 
 how to lose its time ; of libertinism sick of indul-
 
 SALATHIEL. 59 
 
 gence; and of pecuniary embarrassment driven to 
 the most hopeless and whimsical resources. 
 
 A glance at a few of these epistles was enough, 
 and I scattered into the air the reputations of half 
 the high-born maids and matrons of Rome. But, 
 as I was turning away with an instinctive exclama- 
 tion of scorn at this compendium of patrician life, 
 my eye was caught by a letter addressed to the 
 governor of Masada. In opening it, I committed 
 no violation of diplomacy ; for it held no secret, 
 other than an angry remission of his allegiance by 
 some wearied fair one, who announced her intended 
 marriage with the tribune. 
 
 My revenge was thus to go further than my in- 
 tent ; for I deprived him of the personal triumph 
 of delivering this calamitous despatch to his rival. 
 Yet, on second thoughts, conceiving that some 
 cipher might lurk under its absurdity, I secured 
 the paper, and giving the rein, left the whole 
 secret correspondence of debt, libel, and love, to 
 the delight of mankind. 
 
 I flew along ; my indefatigable barb, as if she 
 felt her master's anxieties, put forth double speed. 
 But I had yet a fearful length to traverse. The 
 night fell thick and rude ; but I had no time to 
 think of rest or shelter. I pushed on. The wind 
 rose, and wrapt me in whirls of sand. I heard the
 
 (50 SALATHIEL. 
 
 roar of waters. The ground became fractured, 
 and full of the loose fragments that fall from rocky 
 hills. I discovered only that I was at the foot of 
 the ridge, and had lost my way. In this embar- 
 rassment I trusted to the sagacity of my steed. 
 But thirst led her directly to the bed of one of the 
 mountain torrents, and the phosphoric gleam of the 
 waters alone saved us both from a plunge over 
 a precipice deep enough to extinguish every ap- 
 petite and ambition in the round of this bustling 
 world. 
 
 To find a passage or an escape, I alighted. The 
 torrent bellowed, before me. A wall of rock rose 
 on the opposite side. After long climbings and 
 descents, I found that I had descended too deep 
 to return. Oh, how I longed for trace of man, for 
 the feeblest light that ever twinkled from cottage 
 window! I felt the plague of helplessness. To at- 
 tempt the waters was impossible. To linger where 
 I stood till dawn, was misery. 
 
 ** What would be going on in the mean while i 
 Perhaps, at the very time while I was standing in 
 wretched doubt, imprisoned among those pestilent 
 cliffs, shivering with the spray and the storm, and 
 yet more chilled with bitter incertitude, the deed 
 was doing ! Constantius was with ineffectual gal- 
 lantry assaulting the fortress ; my brave kinsmen
 
 SALATHIEL. 61 
 
 \vere pouring out their lives under the Roman 
 spears ; and I was not there ! " 
 
 A fitful sound came mingling* with the roar of the 
 cataract ; it swelled, and vanished away, like the 
 rushings of the gale. A trumpet rang, but so 
 feebly, that nothing but the keenness of an ear 
 straining to catch the slightest sound, could have 
 distinguished it. I heard remote shouts ; they 
 deepened ; the echo of trumpets followed. " The 
 assault has begun ! The work of glory and of 
 death was doing. Every instant cost a life. The 
 hail-stones that bruised me were not thicker than 
 the arrows that were then smiting down my 
 people. Yet there was I, held like a wolf in the 
 pitfall !" 
 
 Even where the combat was being fought, 
 baffled my conception. It might be in the clouds, 
 or under ground, on the opposite side of the black 
 ridge before me, or many a league beyond the 
 reach of my exhausted limbs, and drooping steed ; 
 all was darkness to the eye and the mind. 
 
 A light flashed down a ravine, leading into the 
 heart of the mountains : another and another rose. 
 Masada stood upon the mountain's brow ! 
 
 T plunged into the torrent — was beaten down 
 by the billows — was swept along through narrow 
 necks of rock, and, half suffocated, was hurled up
 
 62 SALATHIEL. 
 
 again, to find myself on the opposite shore. Wet 
 and weary, I less climbed than tore my way up- 
 wards. But the torrent had borne me far below 
 the ravine. Before me was a gigantic rampart of 
 rock. But the time was flying. I sprang with 
 fierce agility from fissure to fissure. I dragged 
 myself up the face of the precipice by the tufted 
 weeds and chance brushwood. I swung from 
 point to point by the few projecting branches, that 
 yet broke away almost in my grasp ; until, with 
 my hands excoriated, my limbs stiff" and bleeding, 
 and my head reeling, I reached the pinnacle. 
 
 Was I under the dominion of a spell I was the 
 power of some fiend raised to mock me 1 All was 
 darkness as far as the eye could pierce : the hea- 
 viest veil of midnight hung upon the earth. There 
 was utter silence. Not the slightest breath 
 touched upon the ear. 
 
 For a while the thought of some strange illu- 
 sion was paramount ; then came the frightful idea 
 that the illusion was in myself; that in the effort 
 to gain the ascent, I had strained eye and ear, 
 until I could neither hear nor see; that I was still 
 within sight and sound of battle, but insensible to 
 the impressions of the external world for ever. 
 Immortality under this exclusion ! A deathless- 
 ness of the deaf and blind ! The thought struck me
 
 SALATHIEL. 63 
 
 with a force inconceivable by all minds but one 
 sentenced like mine ! 
 
 I cried aloud. A flood of joy rushed into my 
 heart when I heard my voice answered ; though it 
 was but by the neigh of my barb below, which 
 probably felt itself as ill-placed as its master. I 
 now used my ear as the guide, and cautiously 
 descending the further side of the ridge, was soon 
 on comparatively level ground, the remnant of a 
 forest. My foot struck against a human body ; T 
 spoke ; the answer was a groan, and an entreaty 
 that I should bear a small packet, which was put 
 into my hands with a feeble pressure, to " the 
 prince of Naphtali !" In alarm and astonishment, 
 I raised the sufferer from the thorns in which he 
 could scarcely breathe ; gave him some water from 
 my flask, and after many an effort, in which I 
 thought that life would depart every moment, he 
 told me that " he was the unfortunate leader of 
 the assault of Masada." Constantius lay in my 
 arms ! 
 
 " Where I am," said he, " how I came here, 
 or any thing, but that we are undone, I cannot 
 conceive. My last recollection was that of fixing 
 a ladder to the inner rampart. We had made our 
 way good so far without much loss. The garrison 
 was weakened by detachments sent out to plunder
 
 64 SALATHIEL. 
 
 for the arrival of the procurator. I attacked at 
 niiduight. To surprise a Roman fortress was, I 
 well knew, next to impossible ; and no man ever 
 found a Roman garrison without bravery. But 
 our bold fellows did wonders. Every thing was 
 driven from the first rampart; we made more 
 prisoners than we knew what to do with ; and in 
 the midst of all kinds of resistance, we laid the 
 ladders to the second wall. But the garrison were 
 still too strong for us. Our easy conquest of the 
 first line might have been a snare, for the battle- 
 ments before us exhibited an overwhelming force. 
 We fought on ; but the ladders were broken with 
 showers of stones from the engines. The business 
 looked desperate ; but I had made up my mind 
 not to go back after having once got in ; and, rally- 
 ing the men, carried a ladder through a storm of 
 lances and arrows to the foot of the main tower. 
 I was bravely followed, and we were within grasp 
 of the battlement, when I saw a cohort rush out 
 from a sally-port below. This was fatal ; the foot 
 of the rampart was cleared at once ; the ladders 
 were flung down ; and, I suppose, it is owing to 
 the ill-judged fidelity of some of my followers, that 
 I am unfortunate enough to find myself here and 
 alive." 
 
 During the endless hours of this miserable night,
 
 SALATHIEL. 65 
 
 I laboured, with scarcely a hope, to keep life in 
 my heroic son. My coming had saved him. The 
 exposure and his wounds must have destroyed him 
 before morning. We consulted sadly on our next 
 course. I suggested the possibility of gaining the 
 fortress by a renewal of the attack, while the 
 garrison were unprepared, or perhaps indulging 
 themselves in carousal or sleep after their success. 
 The necessity of some attempt was strongly in my 
 mind, and I expressed my determination to run 
 the hazard, if I could find where the remnant of 
 our troops had taken refuge. But this was the 
 first difficulty. Signals of any kind must rouse 
 the vigilance of the Romans. The fortress was 
 above our heads ; and to collect the men during 
 the niglit was impossible. 
 
 While I watched the restless tossings of Con- 
 stantius, a light stole along the ground at a dis- 
 tance. My first idea was, that a Roman patrol 
 was doming, to extinguish our last remains of hope. 
 But the light was soon perceived to be in the hand 
 of some one cautious of discovery. To keep its 
 bearer at a distance, I followed the track, and 
 grasped him. 
 
 " I surrender," said the captive, perfectly at his 
 ease ; " long life to the Emperor !" He lifted 
 the lamp to my face, and burst into laughter.
 
 66 SALATHIEL. 
 
 " May I have a Roman falchion through me," 
 said he, " but I think we were born under the 
 same planet. By all the food that has entered 
 my lips this day, I took your Highness for a thief ; 
 and pardon the word, for a Roman one. I have 
 been running after you the whole day and night." 
 He continued to talk and writhe with a kind of 
 mad merriment. I could not obtain an answer to 
 my questions, of what led him there— how he could 
 guide us out of the forest — or what news he brought 
 from the procurator. He less walked than danced 
 before me through the thickets, as our scene with 
 Florus recurred to his fantastic mind. 
 
 " Never was trick so capital as your escape," 
 exclaimed he; " I would have given an eye, or 
 an arm, things rather an impediment to a beggar, 
 I allow ; but it would have been worth a kingdom 
 to see, as I saw, the faces of the whole camp, 
 procurator, officers, troopers, and all, down to the 
 horse-boys, on your slipping through their fingers 
 in such first-rate style. I have done clever things 
 in my time. But never, no never, shall I equal 
 that way of making five thousand men at once look 
 like five thousand fools. I own I thought that yoi^ 
 would do something brilliant; and it was for that 
 purpose that I tried to draw off" the eye of that 
 scoundrel Florus, for, sot as he is, there are not
 
 SALATHIEL. Q7 
 
 ten in Palestine keener in all points where roguery 
 is concerned. I caught hold of his robe, told him 
 a ready lie of the largest size about a discovery of 
 money in Jerusalem ; and while he was nibbling 
 at the bait, I heard the uproar. You were off ; 
 I could not help laughing in his illustrious face. 
 He kicked me from him, and foaming with rage, 
 ordered every man and horse out after your High- 
 ness. But I saw at a glance, that you had the 
 game in your own hands. You skimmed away 
 like a bird ; an eagle could not have got up that 
 long hill in finer condition. Away you went, 
 bounding from steep to steep like a stone from a 
 sling ; you cut the air like a shaft. I have seen 
 many a mare in my time ; but as for the equal of 
 yours, — why, a pair of wings would be of no use 
 to her. She is a paragon, a bird of paradise, an 
 ostrich on four legs, a " 
 
 I checked his volubility, and led him to the 
 rough bed-side of Constantius. I could not have 
 found a better auxiliary. He knew every appli- 
 cation used by the medicine of the time ; and, to 
 give him credit on his own showing, all diseases 
 found in him an enemy worth all the doctors of 
 Asia. 
 
 " He had travelled for his knowledge ; he had 
 fought with death from the Nile to the Ganges,
 
 (58 SALATHIEL. 
 
 and could swear that the sharks and crocodiles 
 owed him a grudge throughout the world. He 
 had cured rajahs and satraps, till he made him- 
 self unpopular in every court where men looked 
 to vacancies ; had kept rich old men out of their 
 graves, imtil there was a general conspiracy of 
 heirs to drive him out of the country ; and had 
 poured life into so many dying husbands, that the 
 women made a universal combination against his 
 own." 
 
 This flow of panegyric, however, did not im- 
 pede his present services. He applied his herbs 
 and bandages with professional dexterity, and 
 kindling a fire, prepared some food which went 
 further to cheer the patient than even his medi- 
 cine. He still talked away, like one to whom 
 words were a necessary escape for his surcharge 
 of animal spirits. " He knew every thing in 
 physic. He had studied in Egypt, and could 
 compound the true essential extract of mummy 
 with any man that wore a beard, from the Cata- 
 racts to the bottom of the Delta. He once walked 
 to the mountains of the moon, to learn the secret 
 of powdered chrysolite. On the Himmaleh he 
 picked up his knowledge of the bezoar ; and a 
 year's march through sands and snows rewarded 
 him at once with a bag of the ginseng, most mar-
 
 SALATHIEL. 69 
 
 vellous of roots, and the sight of the wall of 
 China, most endless of walls." 
 
 How he stooped to veil this accumulation of 
 knowledge in rags, he did not condescend to ex- 
 plain. But his skill, so far, was certainly admi- 
 rable, and my brave Constantius recovered with a 
 suddenness that surprised me. With his strength, 
 his hopes returned. 
 
 " Oh," exclaimed he, awaking from a refreshing 
 sleep, " that I were once again at the foot of the 
 rampart, with the ladder in my hand !" 
 
 " By my father's beard," replied the leech, 
 "you are much better where you are: for, ob- 
 serve, though I can go further than any doctor 
 between the four rivers, yet I never professed to 
 cure the dead. Take Masada by scale! Ha, ha! 
 take the clouds by scale ! You would have found 
 three walls within the one to which they decoyed 
 you. Herod was the prince of builders, and 
 could have built out every thing, but the champion 
 that carries no arms but a scythe, and cares as 
 little for King Herod, as for Sabat the beggar." 
 
 "Then you know Masada?" interrupted I 
 eagerly. 
 
 " Know it, yes ; every loophole, window, door, 
 aye — and stocks, from one end of it to the other." 
 
 But my escape from the camp was so congenial
 
 70 SALATHIEL. 
 
 to his ideas of pleasantry, that it mingled with all 
 his topics. War and politics went for nothing, 
 compared with the adroitness of eluding Roman 
 activity. " By Jove ! " said he, "when I played 
 mytricks with that pearl of pearls, that supreme 
 of horseflesh, your barb, I was clumsy ; I played 
 the clown, you beat me hollow ; it was matchless ; 
 it was my purse in prospect of your generosity to 
 its emptiness this night ;" he made a profound 
 obeisance, — "to see those panting fellows climbing 
 up the hill after you, nearly killed me." 
 " But the fortress." 
 
 "Why, as to the fortress, the notion of attacking 
 it was madness. I had my doubts of your inten- 
 tion ; and broke loose from the camp to give you 
 the benefit of my advice. — But the tribune! Ha, 
 ha! never was coxcomb so rightly served. You 
 won the heart of the whole legion by the single 
 blow that saved him the trouble of sitting his 
 horse. The troopers could not keep their saddles 
 for laughing ; and as for the old fat captain, I was 
 only afraid that he would roar himself out of the 
 world. I confess, I owed my escape partly to 
 him, and his last words were, ' Rascal, if you 
 ever fall in with the Arab, whom I suspect to be 
 as pleasant a rogue as yourself, tell him that ] 
 wish I had a dozen such in my squadron.' "
 
 SALATHIEL. 71 
 
 " But is there any possibility of knowing the 
 present state of the gannson ? " 
 
 " Aye, there is the misfortune. Yesterday 
 I could have got in, and got out again, like a wild 
 cat. But after this night's visit, it is not too much 
 to suppose, that they may be a little more select in 
 their hospitality. The governor had a slight cor- 
 respondence of his own to carry on ; a trifle in the 
 way of trade ; I had the honour to be smuggler 
 extraordinary to his Mightiness ; and, as in state 
 secrets every thing ought to be kept from the 
 vulgar, my path in and out was by a portcullis, far 
 enough from gates and sentinels ; through which 
 portcullis I should have shown you the way, if 
 the attack had waited for me a few hours longer. 
 That chance is of course cut off now. But see, 
 yonder comes the morning." 
 
 " Then we must move, or have the garrison on 
 us." 
 
 " I forbid that manoeuvre," interrupted the fel- 
 low with easy audacity. 
 
 Constantius and I, in equal surprise, bade him 
 be silent. Yet the quietness with which he took 
 the rebuke propitiated me, and I asked his reason. 
 
 " Nothing more than, that, if you stir, you are 
 ruined. The hare is safest near the kennel. The 
 outlaw sleeps sounder in the magistrate's house.
 
 72 SALATHIEL. 
 
 than he ever slept in his den. I once escaped 
 hanging", by coolly walking into a jail. There 
 stands Masada !" and he pointed to w hat looked 
 to me a heap of black clouds gathered on the 
 mountain's brow above. 
 
 " Not a soul that you have left alive there, will 
 dream of your being within a stone's throw. The 
 copse is thick enough to hide a man from every 
 thing, but a creditor, an evil conscience, or a 
 wife ; stir out of it, and they are on your heels. 
 And I dislike them so heartily, that I hope never 
 to have the honour of their attendance. But you 
 are not mad enough to think of trying them 
 agam : 
 
 " Mad, fellow !" I exclaimed ; " you forget in 
 whose presence you are." He continued making 
 some new arrangement of the bandages on his 
 patient's wounds ; and, without taking the slightest 
 notice of my displeasure, cheered his work with a 
 song. 
 
 " Mad or wise," said I in soliloquy, " I shall lie 
 in the ditch of that fortress, or in its citadel, 
 before next sun-rise." 
 
 " You may lie in both," said the beggar, pur- 
 suing his occupation and his song. " Mad! why 
 not ; all the world are in the same way. The 
 Emperor is mad enough to stay where men have
 
 SALATHIEL. 73 
 
 bands and knives. His people are mad enough 
 to let their throats be cut by him. Florus is mad 
 enoug-h to sleep another night in Palestine. You 
 are mad enough to attack his garrison ; and I — am 
 mad enough to go along with you." 
 
 " You are a singular being. But will you 
 hazard your neck for nothing ?" 
 
 "Custom makes every thing easy," observed 
 he, spanning his muscular neck with his hand. "1 
 have been so many years within sight of the cord, 
 and all such expeditious modes of paying the only 
 debt I ever intend to pay, and that only because 
 it is the last, that I care as little about the ven- 
 ture, as any broken gambler about his last coin. 
 The tables are ready, dice in hand, the stakes 
 down ; and before the next sun peeps in upon our 
 play, we three shall have our fortunes made, or 
 shall lie without caring a straw for the spite of 
 fortune. My plan is this : — I must get into the 
 town ; you must gather your troop without noise, 
 and be ready for my signal, a light from one of the 
 towers. A false attack must be made on the 
 gates, a true attack must be made by the port- 
 cullis, which, if it be not stopped up, I will unlock ; 
 and never trust me, if your Highness does not eat 
 your next supper off the governor's plate. Tbere's 
 a plan for you. I should have been a general. 
 
 VOL. II. D
 
 74 SALATHIEL. 
 
 But merit, — aye, there's the rub, — merit is like 
 the camel's lading — it stops him at the gate, while 
 the empty slip in. It is putting wings upon one's 
 shoulders, when the race is to be run upon the 
 ground. Too much brain in a man is like too 
 much bend in a bow ; the bow either breaks, or 
 sends the arrow a mile beyond the mark. Genius, 
 my prince, is — " 
 
 I interrupted the general in his progress into the 
 philosopher, and demanded whether the renewed 
 vigilance of the fortress would not require some 
 additional expedient for his entry. He struck his 
 forehead ; the thought came, as the flint gives 
 its spark, and he produced a highly ornamented 
 tablet. ** This," said he, " I ought to employ in 
 your service ; for if you had not knocked down 
 the tribune, I could never have picked it up. In 
 making my run over the mountain, I struck upon 
 his correspondence. Oh ! the curse of curiosity ! 
 if I had not stopped to delight myself with the 
 whole scandal of Rome, I should have been here 
 in time. But I lingered, lost an hour in laughing, 
 and when I set out in the dusk, lost my way for 
 the first time in my life. Before setting off, how- 
 ever, I wrote a letter ridiculing Florus in all 
 points, burlesqueing the people about him, scoffing 
 at every body in the most heroic style ; and having
 
 SALATHIEL. 75 
 
 subscribed the name of the unlucky tribune, ad- 
 dressed it to one of the most notorious personages 
 in all Italy ; and placed it where it is sure to be 
 seen, and as sure to be carried to the most noble 
 of procurators. Now, could 1 not begin a corre- 
 spondence with the governor, and act the courier 
 myself? Yet, to hit upon the subject — " He paused. 
 
 The letter that I had found, occurred to me. 
 I showed it to our adroit friend. He was inecsta- 
 cies. He kissed it over and over, and played 
 some of those antics which had already made me 
 half doubt his sanity. He flung down the tablet. 
 " Go," said he ; " fiction is a fine thing in its way. 
 But give me fact, when I want to entrap a great 
 man. He is so little used to truth, that the least 
 atom of it is a spell ; the fresh bait will carry the 
 largest hook. Aye, this is the letter for us ; it has 
 the sincerity of the sex, when they are determined 
 to jilt a man ; its abuse will cover me from top to 
 toe with the cloak of a true ambassador." 
 
 " But the unpopularity of your credentials," 
 said I, laughingly. 
 
 " Let the potentate by whom they are sent, set- 
 tle that affair with the potentate by whom they are 
 received," replied he. 
 
 " You wiil be hanged." 
 
 " I shall first get in."
 
 76 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The day passed anxiously, for every sound of 
 the huge fortress was heard in the thicket. The 
 creaking of machines, brought up to the walls 
 against future assault ; the rattling of hammers ; 
 the rolling of waggons loaded with materials for 
 the repair of the night's damage ; the calls of trum- 
 pet and clarion, and the march of patroles, rang 
 perpetually in our ears. The depth of the copse, 
 and its nearness to the ramparts, justified the beg- 
 gar's generalship, and the son of El Hakim proved 
 iiimself a master of the art of castrametation. 
 Nothing could exceed his alertness in threading 
 the mazes of this dwarf forest, where a wolf could 
 scarcely have made progress ; and where a lynx 
 would have required all his eyes.
 
 SALATHIEL. 77 
 
 ■ On my asking how he contrived to find his way 
 through this labyrinth, he told me, that " for 
 making one's way in woods and elsewhere, there 
 was nothing like a familiarity with smuggling, and 
 the state. 
 
 '• The man," continued he, " who has driven a 
 trade in every thing from pearls to pistachios with- 
 out leave of the customs, cannot be much puzzled 
 by thickets ; and the man who has contrived to 
 climb into confidence at court, must have had a 
 talent for keeping his feet in the most slippery 
 spots, or he never could have mounted the back- 
 stairs!" 
 
 He collected the troop, of whom I was rejoiced 
 to believe that but few had fallen, though nearly 
 one half were made prisoners ; they were eager to 
 attempt the rampart again, all boldly attributing 
 their failure to accident, and all thirsting alike for 
 the rescue of their comrades, and for revenge. 
 The letter was given to our emissary, and I 
 ascended the loftiest of the mountain pinnacles, to 
 examine for myself the nature of the ground. 
 
 From my height the view was complete ; tlie 
 whole interior of the fortress lay open ; and in the 
 same glance, I saw the grace and regal grandeur 
 of design, which Greek taste could stamp even 
 upon the strength of military architecture, and
 
 78 SALATHIEL. 
 
 the utter hopelessness of any direct assault upon 
 Masada, by less than an army. 
 
 Who but he that has actually been in the same 
 situation, can conceive the feelings with which I 
 gazed ! Below me, was the spot in which a few- 
 hours must see me conqueror or nothing ! On 
 that battlement I might, before another morn, be 
 stretched in blood ! on that tower I might be fixed 
 a horrid spectacle ! Nature is irresistible, and 
 her workings overpowered the old belief, that a 
 mysterious sentence was to give me a miserable 
 perpetuity of life. The thought has always ter- 
 ribly returned ; but the moment of energy has al- 
 ways extinguished it ; the hurrying and swelling 
 current of my heart rolled over it, as the summer 
 torrent rushes over the tomb on its brink. The 
 melancholy memorial was there, sure to re-appear 
 with the first subsiding ; but, lost while the flood 
 of feeling whirled along. 
 
 Every group of soldiery that slept, or sang, or 
 gamed, or gazed, along the ramparts under the 
 bright and quiet day which followed so fearful a 
 night ; every archer pacing on his tower ; every 
 solitary wanderer in the streets ; every change of 
 the guard ; every entering courier ; was visible to 
 me, and all were objects of keen interest. At 
 length, my courier came. I saw his approach
 
 SALATHIEL. 79 
 
 from a pass of the mountains at the remotest point 
 from our cover, his well- contrived exhaustion, the 
 ostentatious dust upon his tattered habiliments, 
 and the fearless impudence with which he beg^uiled 
 the sulky guard at the gate, and stalked before the 
 centurion by whom he was brought to the Go- 
 vernor. 
 
 With what eyes of impatience I now watched 
 the sun ! I wished for the power of extinguish- 
 ing day from the heavens. As the hour of fate 
 approached, the fever of the mind grew. To 
 defer the attack beyond the night, was to abandon 
 it; for by morn the troops under Florus must reach 
 Masada. Yet a strange sensation, a chillness of 
 heart sometimes came on me, in which my hands 
 were as feeble as an infant's. I felt like one be- 
 fore a tribunal, awaiting the word that must decide 
 his destiny. Nothing tries the soul more deeply 
 than this concentration of its fortunes into a few 
 moments. The man sees himself standing on the 
 edge of a precipice, down which there is no second 
 step. But the thought of returning errandless 
 and humiliated, and this too, from my first enter- 
 prise, was intense bitterness. I made my de- 
 cision. From that instant I breathed freely, my 
 strength returned, hope glowed in my bosom ; 
 and, clinging to the granite spire of the mountain,
 
 80 SALATHIEL. 
 
 IMooked down upon the haughty stronghold, like 
 its evil genius descending from the clouds. 
 
 The sun touched the western ridge. A horse- 
 man came at full stretch across the plain at its 
 foot, and entered the fortress. He evidently 
 brought news of importance, for the troops were 
 hurried under arms, flags hoisted on the ramparts^ 
 and the walls lined with archers. All was military 
 bustle. 
 
 My first conception was, that ray emissary had 
 betrayed us, and that we were about to be at- 
 tacked. I plunged from the pinnacle, and was 
 following the windings of the goat-track to our 
 lair, when I saw the rising of a cloud of dust in the 
 distance. It moved with great rapidity, and soon 
 developed its contents. Intelligence of the assault 
 had reached Florus. His sagacity saw what 
 perils turned on the loss of the fortress ; he shook 
 off his indolence, and came without delay to its 
 succour. Banners, helmets, and scarlet cloaks, 
 poured across the plain. A torrent of brass, burn- 
 ing and flashing in the sun-beam, continued to roll 
 down the defile ; and before the evening star glit- 
 tered, the whole cavalry of the fifteenth legion 
 was trampling over the drawbridge of Masada. 
 
 Here was the death-blow. My enterprise was 
 T]enceforth tenfold more hopeless ; but with me
 
 SALATHIEL. 81 
 
 the time for prudence was past. If the reinforce- 
 ment had arrived but an hour before, I should 
 probably have g-iven up the attempt in despair. 
 But my mind was fixed; I had made an internal 
 vow ; and if the whole host of Rome were crowded 
 within the walls beneath, I should have hazarded 
 the assault. 
 
 I descended, found my troop collected, and, to 
 my alarm and vexation, Constantius, enfeebled 
 as he was, obstinately determined to assault the 
 rampart again. With the noble daring- of his 
 enthusiastic heart he told me, that unless I suf- 
 fered him to attempt the retrieval of his defeat, 
 he felt it impossible to survive. 
 
 " Shame and grief," said he, " are as deadly 
 as the sword ; and never will I return to the face 
 of her whom I love, nor of the family whom I 
 honour, unless I can return with the conscious- 
 ness of having at least deserved to be success- 
 ful." 
 
 Against this I reasoned, but reasoned in vain. 
 We finally divided our followers. I gave him the 
 attack of the rampart, which was to be the place 
 of his triumph or his grave ; flung myself into his 
 embrace, and listened to his parting steps with a 
 heart throbbing at every tread. I then moved
 
 82 SALATHIEL. 
 
 round the foot of the mountain towards the secret 
 passage. 
 
 The night fell dark as we could wish. I waited 
 impatiently for the signal, a light from the walls. 
 Yet, no signal twinkled from wail or tower, and I 
 began to distrust again ; but while I lingered, a 
 shout told me that Constantius was already en- 
 gaged. " Let what will come, " exclaimed I, 
 " onward!" 
 
 We scrambled up the face of the rock, and at 
 length found the entrance of the subterranean. 
 It was so narrow, that even in the day-time it 
 must have been nearly invisible from below. A 
 low iron door a few . yards within the lissure was 
 the first obstacle. To beat it down might alarm 
 the garrison. The passage allowed but of our 
 advance one by one. I led the way, hatchet in 
 hand. A few blows given with as little noise as 
 possible, broke the stones round the lock. The 
 door gave way, and we all crept in. In this man- 
 ner we wound along for a distance, which I began 
 to think endless. The passage was singularly 
 toilsome. We ascended considerable heights, we 
 descended steep paths, in which it was with the 
 utmost difliculty that we could keep our feet ; we 
 heard the rush of waters through the darkness ;
 
 SALATHIEL. 83 
 
 blasts of bitter wind swept against us ; the thick 
 and heavy air that closed round us after them, 
 almost impeded our breathing ; and from time to 
 time the vapour of sulphur gave the fearful im- 
 pression that we had lost our way, and were actu- 
 ally engulfed in the bowels of a burning mine. 
 
 The heart of my hunters was bold, and they 
 still held on ; but the mere fatigue of struggling 
 through this poisoned atmosphere, was fast ex- 
 hausting their courage. I cheered them with 
 what topics I could, but never was my imagination 
 more barren. I heard, at every step I took, fewer 
 feet following me. The close and pestilential air 
 was beginning to act evenn^ipon myself; but the 
 great stake was playing above, and onward I must 
 go. I dared not speak louder than in a whisper ; 
 soon no whisper responded to mine. I tottered on, 
 till, overpowered by the feeling that our sacrifice 
 was in vain, a sensation like that of a sickly propen- 
 sity to sleep bound up my faculties; and, whether 
 I slept or fainted, I for a time lost all recollection. 
 
 A roar, like thunder, overhead, roused me. A 
 sight the most superb burst on my awaking eyes ; 
 a roof of gold, arched so high, that even its splen- 
 dour was partially dimmed; walls of diamond, 
 pillared with a thousand columns of every precious 
 gem ; whole shafts of emerald ; pavilions of jasper
 
 84 SALATHIEl/. 
 
 and beryl ; couches wrought with pearl and silver ; 
 a floor, as far as the glance could pierce, studded 
 with amethyst and ruby ; treasures, to which the 
 accumulated spoils of the Greek or the Persian 
 were nothing ; the finest devices of the most ex- 
 quisite art, mingled with the most colossal forms 
 which wealth could wear ; opulence in its massive 
 and negligent grandeur; opulence in its delicate 
 and almost spiritualized beauty, were before me. 
 A slender flame burning at the foot of an idol, 
 lighted up this stupendous temple. 
 
 I was alone ; but the orifice by which I had 
 entered was visible ; the light shot far down into 
 it, and I soon collected the greater number of my 
 troop. All were equally wrapt in wonder, and the 
 superstitious feelings which the presence of the 
 Roman and Syrian idolaters had partially gene- 
 rated even in the Jewish mind, began to startle 
 those brave men. 
 
 " We had, perhaps, come into forbidden ground ; 
 the gods of the. earth, whether gods or demons, 
 were powerful ; and we stood in the violated cen- 
 tre of the mountain." 
 
 For the first time, I found the failure of my in- 
 fluence. A few adhered to me, but the majority 
 calmly declared that, however fearless of man, 
 they dared go no further. I threw myself on the
 
 SALATHIEL. 85 
 
 ground before the entrance of the cavern, and de- 
 sired them to consummate their crime by trampling 
 on their prince and leader. But they were deter- 
 mined to retire. I taunted them, I adjured them, 
 I poured out the most vehement reproaches. They 
 stepped over me as I lay at the mouth of the fis- 
 sure ; and at length one and all left me to cry out 
 in my dazzling solitude, against the tre^ichery of 
 human faith, and the emptiness of human wishes. 
 
 The roar again rolled above ; I heard distant 
 shouts and trumpets. In the sudden and despe- 
 rate consciousness that all was now to be gained 
 or lost, I rushed after the fugitives, to force them 
 back. I plunged into the darkness, and grasped 
 the first figure that I could overtake. My hand 
 fell on the iron cuirass of a Roman ! my blood ran 
 chill. " We were betrayed ; decoyed into the 
 bowels of the mountain to be massacred." 
 
 The figure started from me. I gave a blind 
 blow of the axe, and heard it crush through his 
 helmet. The man fell at my feet. I wildly de- 
 manded, " How became there, and how we might 
 make our way into the light I" 
 
 " You are undone," said he faintly. " Your spy 
 was seized by the Procurator. Your attack was 
 known, and the door of the subterranean left un-
 
 86 SALATHIEL. 
 
 guarded, to entrap you. This passage was the 
 entrance to a former mine ; and in the mine is your 
 grave," The voice sank, he groaned, and ^yas 
 no more. 
 
 His words were soon confirmed by the hurried 
 return of my men. They had found the passage 
 obstructed by a portcullis, dropt since their en- 
 trance. Torches were seen through the fissures 
 above, and the sound of arms rattled round us. 
 The ambush was complete. " Now," said I, " we 
 have but one thing for it ; — the sword, first for our 
 enemy, last for ourselves. If we must die, let us 
 not die by Roman halters." 
 
 One and all, we rushed back into the mine. 
 But we had now no leisure to look upon the beau- 
 ty of those spars and crystals, which under the 
 light of the altar glittered and blushed with such 
 gem-like radiance. From that altar rose a fierce 
 and broad pyramid of fire; piles of fagots, con- 
 tinually poured from a grating above, fed the 
 blaze to intolerable fierceness. Smoke filled the 
 mine. To escape was beyond hope. The single 
 orifice had been already tried. Around us was 
 a solid wall as old as the world. It was already 
 heating with the blaze ; our feet shrank from the 
 floor. The flame, shooting in a thousand spires,
 
 SALATHIEL. 87 
 
 coiled and sprang against the roof, the walls, and 
 the ground. To remain where we were, was to 
 be a cinder. The catastrophe was inevitable ! 
 
 In tht5 madness of pain, I made a furious bound 
 into the column of fire. All followed, for death 
 was certain, and the sooner it came the better. 
 With unspeakable feelings I saw, at the back of 
 the mound of stone on which the fagots burned, 
 an opening, hitherto concealed by the huge figure 
 of the idol. We crowded into it ; here we were 
 at least out of reach of the flame. But what was 
 our chance, but that of a more lingering death J 
 We hurried in ; a portcullis stood across the pas- 
 sage ! What was to be our fate, but famine ? We 
 must perish in a lingering misery — of all miseries 
 the most appalling ; and with the bitter aggrava- 
 tion of perishing unknown, worthless, useless, stig- 
 matised for slaves or dastai'ds ! What man of 
 Israel would ever hear of our deaths I What 
 chronicler of Rome would deign to vindicate our 
 absence from the combat? 
 
 We were within hearing of that combat. The 
 assault thundered more wildly than ever over our 
 heads ; the alternate shout of Jew and Roman 
 descended to us. But where were we J caged, 
 dungeoned, doomed ! If the earth laid her trea- 
 sures at my feet that night, I would have given
 
 88 SALATHIEL. 
 
 them for one hour of freedom, one saving, hallowed 
 effort. Oh ! for one struggle beside my warriors, 
 to redeem my name, and avenge my country ! The 
 contrast subdued me utterly. 1 sank into a corner, 
 and wept like a child. 
 
 The roar of battle grew feeble. " Was all 
 lost ? Constantius slain ? for with life he would 
 not yield. Was the whole hope of Judea crushed 
 at a blow ?" I cried aloud to my followers to 
 force the portcullis. They dragged and tore at 
 the bars. But it was of a solid strength, that not 
 ten times ours could master. 
 
 In the midst of our hopeless labours, the sound 
 of heavy blows above caught my ear, and frag- 
 ments of rock fell in; the blows were continued. 
 Was this but a new expedient to crush or suffo- 
 cate us ? 
 
 A crevice showed the light of a torch over- 
 head. I grasped the axe to strike a last blow at 
 the gate, and die. — 1 heard a voice pronounce my 
 name ! Another blow opened the roof. A face 
 bent down, and a loud laugh proclaimed my crazy 
 friend. "Ha!" said he, " are you there at last,' 
 You have had a hard night's work of it. But, 
 come up ; I have an incomparable joke to tell you 
 about the tribune and the procurator. Come up, 
 my prince, and see the world."
 
 SALATHIEL. 89 
 
 I had no time to rebuke his jocularity. I 
 climbed up the side of the passage, and found 
 myself still in a dungeon. To my look of disap- 
 pointment, he gave no other answer than a laugh ; 
 and unscrewing a bar from the loop-hole above his 
 head, " It is my custom," said he, " to make 
 myself at my ease wherever I go ; and as prisons 
 fall to a man's lot, like other things, I like to 
 be able to leave my mansion whenever T am tired 
 of it." 
 
 " Forward then," said I, impatiently. 
 
 " Backward," said the beggar, with the most 
 unruffled coolness. " That loop-hole is for me 
 alone. I may be under the governor's care again, 
 and I have showed it to you now, merely as a 
 curiosity. Drink, my brave fellows," said he, 
 turning to the troop below, and giving them a 
 skin of wine. " Soldiers must have their com- 
 forts, my gallant prince, as well as beggars. If 
 that villain Procurator had not come by express, 
 (for no man alive is quicker to catch an idea, 
 where he is likely to lose or gain,) you should 
 have been by this time sleeping in the governor's 
 bed, and the governor, probably, supping with 
 me. But all is fortune, good and bad, in this 
 world. The Procurator, putting your escape and 
 mine together, began to think that his presence
 
 90 SALATHIEL. 
 
 might be useful here ; and the laziest rogue in 
 Palestine came with a speed that might have 
 done honour to the quickest, who stands before 
 yoii in my person. I had gone on swimmingly 
 with the governor on the strength of your love- 
 letter, angry as it made him. But the first sight 
 of Florus put an end to my chance of opening the 
 gates for your triumphal entry. I was tied, neck 
 and heels, and flung here, to be gibbeted to- 
 morrow morning. But that morning has not 
 come yet." 
 
 He paced the cell uneasily. At length he 
 sprang up, and looking from the loop-hole, whis- 
 pered " Now !" — A low, creaking sound of ma- 
 chinery followed. " Down into the cavern," said 
 he, " that accursed cohort has moved at last. 
 Away, my prince, and seek your fortune." 
 
 I exhibited some reluctance to be engulfed 
 again. But his countenance assumed a sudden 
 sternness. His only word was " Down !" As we 
 were parting, he solemnly pronounced, — " May 
 whatever power befriends the righteous cause, 
 and blasts the man of infamy and blood, send the 
 lightnings before you !" A tear stood in his up- 
 lifted eye. His worn countenance flushed, as he 
 spoke the words. He seized a spear from a corner, 
 and plunged after me into the cavern.
 
 SALATHIEL. 91 
 
 The portcullis no longer obstructed us ; the 
 passage opened at the foot of the rampart. My 
 heart bounded ; I could have rushed upon an 
 array. The same eagerness was in us all. But 
 the hand of our guide was on my shoulder. 
 " Your attack," said he, " can be nothing, unless 
 it be a surprise. Move along unseen, if possible, 
 till you come to the flank of the first tower. There 
 wait for my signal !" I demanded its nature. 
 But he was gone. 
 
 The sound of the assault swelled again, though 
 it was palpably receding. I climbed the rampart 
 alone. The torches on a distant battlement showed 
 me the Romans in force, and evidently making way. 
 I could restrain myself no longer. My troop too 
 murmured at their inaction. I gave the word — 
 led them on — concealed by the shadow of the co- 
 lossal wall, saw the Romans crowding on the bat- 
 tlements above — fell upon the guard at the gate, 
 and cast it open ! 
 
 Constantius was the first that saw me. He sprang 
 forward, with a cry of exultation. The Romans on 
 the battlement felt themselves cut off*, were struck 
 with panic, and threw down their arms ; but we 
 had more important objects, and rushed back to the 
 citadel. Our work was not yet done ; we were en- 
 tangled in the streets, and lost time. The garrison
 
 92 SALATHIEL. 
 
 was strong, and fought like men who had no re- 
 source but in the sword. We were pressed on all 
 sides ; an arrow lodged in my shoulder, and I could 
 wield the axe no more. In a few discharges, every 
 man round me was bruised or bleeding. I saw a 
 Roman column hurrying along the rampart, whose 
 charge must finish the battle at once. But in the 
 instant of despair, a blaze sprang up in rear of the 
 enemy. Another and another followed. The go- 
 vernor's palace was on fire! The sight broke the 
 Roman courage. Cries of treachery rang through 
 the ranks ; they turned, flung away spear and 
 shield, and I was master of the strongest fortress 
 in Palestine !
 
 SALATHIEL, 93 
 
 CHAPTER VII, 
 
 Resistance was at an end, and we had now 
 nothing to do, but to prevent the conflagration 
 from snatching the prize out of our hands. The 
 flames rose menacingly from the roof of the pa- 
 lace ; and another hour might see the famous 
 arsenal beyond the power of man. Leaving to 
 Constantius the care of securing the prisoners, I 
 entered the palace, followed by a detachment. In 
 the bustle, I had missed my deliverer ; but scarcely 
 could think about him, or any thing else, while 
 the enemy were showering lances and shafts as 
 thick as snow upon us. But now, some fears of 
 his extravagance recurred to me, and T ordered 
 strict search to be made for him. 
 
 The fire had seized on but a wing of the palace,
 
 94 SALATHIEL. 
 
 and was speedily extinguished. I was ascending 
 the stair, when a figure bounded full against me 
 from a side-door. It was the beggar. His voice, 
 however, was my only means of recognition, for 
 his outward man had undergone a total change. 
 He wore a rich cuirass and helmet, a Greek fal- 
 chion glittered in his embroidered belt, a tissued 
 mantle hung over his shoulder, and a spear pon- 
 derous, but inlaid and polished with the nicest art, 
 was brandished in his hand. " What," said he, 
 " is all over? May all the fogs of earth and skies 
 cloud me, but 1 was born under the most malig- 
 nant planet that ever did mischief; I left you only 
 to do some business of my own, I failed there. My 
 next business was to join and help you to give a 
 lesson to those Roman hounds ; or, if they were to 
 give the lesson to us, take chance along with you, 
 and exhibit as a soldier. I made bold to borrow 
 the governor's arms, as you see ; but I am always 
 unlucky." 
 
 " If it was you who set this roof on fire, your 
 torch was worth an army." 
 
 " Aye, I never saw fire fail ; no man is ashamed 
 of running away from a blaze ; and I thought that 
 the Romans were tired enough, to be glad of the 
 excuse. But I had a point besides to carry. 
 Florus is somewhere under these ceilings. I de-
 
 SALATKIEL. 95 
 
 termined to burn him out, and pay home my long 
 arrear, as he attempted to make his escape. But 
 you have just extinguished the cleverest earthly 
 contrivance for the discovery of rascal governors ; 
 and I must break an oath I made long ago against 
 his ever dying in his bed." 
 
 " Florus here! then we must have him without 
 delay. But, who comes ?" 
 
 At the word I seized a slave of the palace, in 
 the attempt to escape. He begged hard for life, 
 and promised to conduct us where the Procurator 
 was concealed. We hurried on through a succes- 
 sion of winding passages ; a strong door stopped 
 us : " There," said the slave. 
 
 " By the beard of my fathers, the wolf shall not 
 be long in his den," cried the son of El Hakim. 
 " Procurator, your last crime is committed." 
 
 He threw himself against the door with pro- 
 digious force ; the bars burst away, and before us 
 lay the terror of Judea ! 
 
 He was to be a terror no more. A cup, the 
 inseparable amethystine cup, stood on the table 
 beside his couch. He lay writhing with pain. 
 His countenance wore the ghastliest hue of death. 
 I bade him surrender. He smiled, took the cup 
 in his trembling hand, and eagerly swallowed the 
 remaining drops in its bottom.
 
 96 SALATHIEL. 
 
 "What? poison!" exclaimed my companion. 
 " Has the villain escaped me ! Here is my planet 
 again ; never was man so unlucky. But, he is not 
 dead yet." 
 
 He drew his falchion, and lifted it up with the 
 look of one about to offer a solemn sacrifice. I 
 seized his arm. " He is dying," said I ; "he is 
 beyond earthly vengeance." The wretched crimi- 
 nal before us was nearly insensible to his brief 
 preservation. The poison, acting upon a frame 
 already broken with public and private anxieties, 
 was making quick work ; and the glazed eye, the 
 fallen countenance,, and the collapsed limb, showed 
 that his last hour was come. 
 
 " And this is the thing," soliloquized the son of 
 El Hakim, " that men feared ! In this senseless 
 flesh was the power to make the free tremble 
 for their freedom, and the slave curse the hour 
 that he was born. This mass of mortality could 
 stand between me and happiness — could make me 
 a beggar, a wanderer, miserable, mad ! " He 
 caught up the hand that hung nerveless from the 
 couch. " Accursed hand !" exclaimed he, " what 
 torrents of blood have owed their flowing to thee ! 
 A word written by these fingers cost a thousand 
 lives. And, oh ! Heaven ! in this cruel grasp 
 was the key to thy dungeon, my Mary ; that dun-
 
 SALATHIEL. 97 
 
 geon of more than the body, the hideous prison- 
 house that extinguished thy mind !" He let fall 
 the hand, and wept bitterly. 
 
 To my utter surprise, the Procurator started 
 upon his feet, and, with the look that had so often 
 made the heart quake, haughtily demanded who 
 we were, and how we dared to interrupt his pri- 
 vacy. I felt as if a spirit had started up before 
 me from the shroud. But this extraordinary re- 
 vival was merely the last effort of a fierce mind. 
 He tottered, and was falling, when my companion 
 darted forward, grasped him by the bosom with 
 one hand, and waving the falchion above him with 
 the other — "He hears! he sees!" exclaimed he 
 exultingly. "Who are we ? Who am I? Look 
 upon me, Gessius Florus, before the sight leaves 
 your eyes for ever. See Sabat the Ishmaelite ! — 
 the despised, the insulted, the trampled, the 
 undone ! But never did you prosper from the hour 
 of my ruin. I was your spy, but it was only to 
 bring you into a snare ; I fed your pride, but it 
 was only that it might turn the hearts of all men 
 against you ; I stimulated your avarice, only that 
 wealth might make your nights sleepless, and your 
 days, days of fear ; I stirred your wrath into rage ; 
 I set your prudence asleep ; I inflamed your am- 
 bition into frenzy ! This night I led your con- 
 VOL. II. E
 
 98 SALATHIEL. 
 
 querors upon you. But I had made all sure. 
 The -vengeaace was at hand. In another week, 
 Gessius Florus, if you had escaped this sword, you 
 would have been seized by order of the Emperor ; 
 stripped of your wealth, your honours, your ac- 
 cursed power, and your wretched life. The com- 
 mand for your blood is this night crossing the 
 Mediterranean !" 
 
 The dying man struggled to get free, wrenched 
 himself by a violent effort from the strong grasp, 
 that at once held and sustained him, and fell. — 
 He was dead ! 
 
 The son of El Hakim stood gazing on the body 
 in silence ; when the glitter of a ring on the hand, 
 as it lay spread on the floor, struck his eye. He 
 seized it with an outcry : the man was wholly 
 changed ; his frowning visage flashed with joy. I 
 in vain demanded the cause. He pressed the 
 signet to his lips. " Farewell, farewell !" he ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 " Will you not wait for your share of the spoil, 
 your ample and deserved reward ?" 
 
 " Farewell !" he repeated, and burst from the 
 chamber. 
 
 This memorable night made changes in more 
 than the Ishmaelite. Constantius was, at last, in 
 his element. I had hitherto seen him disguised
 
 SALATHIEL. 99 
 
 by circumstances : the fugitive from his country, 
 the lover under the embarrassments of forbidden 
 passion, the ill-starred soldier. His native vigour 
 of soul was under a perpetual cloud. But now 
 the cloud broke away ; and victory, the conscious- 
 ness of having nobly retrieved his check, and the 
 still prouder consciousness of the career that this 
 triumph laid open before him, brought the cha- 
 racter of his mind into full light. He was now 
 the lofty enthusiast that nature made him. He 
 breathed generous ambition : his step was the step 
 of command ; and when he rushed to my embrace 
 with almost the eagerness of a boy, and a voice 
 stifled with emotion, I saw in him the romance, 
 the soaring spirit, and the passionate love of glory, 
 that moulded the Greek hero. 
 
 He had done his duty nobly. All were in ad- 
 miration of his assault. The Romans had been 
 fuUv prepared. He scaled the rampart, and scaled 
 it almost singly in their teeth. His men followed 
 gallantly. He pressed on : the second rampart 
 was stormed. I found him at the foot of the third, 
 checked by its impregnable mass alone, but defying 
 the whole garrison to drive him back. AVhen I 
 afterwards saw the strength of these bulwarks, I 
 felt that, with such a leader, at the head of troops
 
 100 SALATHIEL. 
 
 animated by his own spirit, there was nothing ex- 
 travagant in the boldest hope of war. 
 
 This was an eventful night ; and there was still 
 much to be done before we slept. I threw over 
 my tattered garments one of the many mantles 
 that lay loose round the chamber, flung another 
 on the body of the Procurator, and sallied forth to 
 give the final orders of the night. The prisoners 
 had been already secured, and I found the great 
 hall of the palace crowded with their officers. The 
 interview was whimsical : for a while I escaped 
 recognition ; the gashed faces and torn raiment of 
 my hunters, which bore the marks of our dreary 
 march throiigh the subterranean ; the rough heads 
 and hands stained with the fight, a startling con- 
 trast to the perfect equipment of the Roman under 
 all circumstances, gave them the look of the wild- 
 est of the robber tribes. My disguise was in the 
 contrary way, yet complete. The cloak was acci- 
 dentally one of the most showy in the Procurator's 
 wardrobe. 1 found myself enveloped in furs and 
 tissues ; and their Arab acquaintance was forgot- 
 ten, in what seemed to them the legitimate mo- 
 narch of the mountains. 
 
 I was received by the circle of officers with the 
 deference which, let the captor be who he may,
 
 SALATHIEL. 101 
 
 marks the distinction between bim and his prisoner; 
 yet with the decent dignity of the brave. There 
 was but one exception, which I might have guess- 
 ed — the tribune. He was all humiliation, stooped 
 to make some abject request about his baubles, 
 and was probably on the point of apologizing for 
 his ever having taken up the trade of war; when I 
 turned on my heel, and shook hands with my old 
 friend the Captain. He looked in evident per- 
 plexity. At last, throiigh even the grim evidences 
 of the night's work on my countenance, and the 
 problem of my pompous mantle, his brightening 
 eye began to recognize me; and he burst out with, 
 " The Arab, by Jupiter 1" But when I asked him, 
 " what had become of his baggage," I touched a 
 tender string ; and, with a countenance as cast 
 down as if he had sustained an irreparable cala- 
 mity, he told me that his whole travelling cellar 
 w^as in the hands of my men ; and it was his full 
 belief that he was at that moment not worth a 
 tlask in the wide world. 
 
 The tribune turned away in conscious disgrace ; 
 and I sent him to a dungeon, to meditate till morn 
 on the awkwardness of insolence to strangers. 
 With the others I sat down to such entertainment 
 as a sacked fortress could supply ; but which hun- 
 ger, thirst, and fatigue, rendered worth all the
 
 102 SALATHIEL. 
 
 banquets of the idle. The old captain cheered his 
 soul, and grew rhetorical. " Wine," said he, 
 tlask in hand, " does wonders. It is the true 
 leveller, for it leaves no troublesome inequality of 
 conditions. It is the true sponge, that pays all 
 debts at sight, for it makes us forget the existence 
 of a creditor. It is the true friend, that sticks 
 by a man to the last drop ; the faithful mistress, 
 that jilts no man; and the most charming of 
 wives, whose tongue no husband hears, whose com- 
 pany is equally delightful at all hours, and who 
 is as bewitching this day as she was this day fifty 
 years ago." 
 
 The panegyric was popular. The governor's 
 cellar flowed. The Italian connoisseur-ship in 
 vintages was displayed in the most profound style; 
 and long before we parted, the great " sponge " 
 which wipes away debt, had wiped away every re- 
 collection of defeat. The idea of their being 
 prisoners never clouded a sunbeam that came from 
 the bottle. The letters scattered from the tri- 
 bune's saddle were an unfailing topic. The legion 
 picked them up on the march ; they had the 
 piquancy of scandal of their particular friends ; 
 and the addition made to their intelligence by my 
 wild associate, was unanimously declared the most 
 dexterous piece of frolic, the most pleasant venom.
 
 SALATHIET.. 103 
 
 and the most venomous pleasantry, that ever 
 emanated from the wit of man. 
 
 But my task was not yet done. I left those gay 
 soldiers to their wine, and with Constantius and 
 some torch- bearers, hastened to tlie Armoury of 
 Herod — the forbidden ground; the treasure-house 
 of war ; and, if old rumour were to be believed, 
 the place of many a mysterious celebration, un- 
 lawful to be seen by human eyes. 
 
 The building was in the centre of the citadel, 
 and was of the stateliest architecture. The mas- 
 sive doors were thrown open. At the first step I 
 shrank from the blaze of steel and gold that shot 
 back against the torches. The walls of this gi- 
 gantic hall were covered with arms and armour of 
 every nation — cuirasses, Persian, Roman, and 
 Greek; the plate-mail of the Gaul; the Indian 
 chain-armour; innumerable head-pieces, from the 
 steel cap of the Scythian, to the plumed and triple- 
 crested helmet of the Greek, the richest combina- 
 tion of strength and beauty ever borne by soldier- 
 ship ; shields of every shape and sculpture ; the 
 Greek orb ; the Persian rhomb ; the Cimmerian 
 crescent; — all arms, the ponderous spear of the 
 phalanx ; the Thracian pike ; the German war- 
 hatchet ; the Italian javelin ; the bow, from the 
 Nubian, twice the height of man, to the small
 
 104 SALATHIEL. 
 
 half circle of the Assyrian cavalry ; swords, the 
 broad-bladed and fearful falchion of the Roman, 
 every thrust of vehich let out a life ; the huge 
 two-handed sword of the Baltic tribes ; the 
 Syrian scymitar ; the Persian acinaces ; the deep- 
 hilted knife of the Indian islander ; the Arab 
 poniard ; the serrated blade of the African ; all 
 were there, in their richest models — the collection 
 of Herod's life. War had raised him to a rank 
 which allowed the indulgence of his most lavish 
 tastes of good and ill ; the sword was his true 
 sceptre ; and never king bore the sign of his so- 
 vereignty more royally emblazoned. 
 
 After long admiration of this display of the 
 wealth dearest to the soldier, I was retiring, when 
 a slave approached, and prostrating himself, told 
 me that a hall remained, still more singular, " the 
 hall in which the Great Herod received his death- 
 warning." I gazed round the armoury ; there 
 was no door but the one by which we had en- 
 tered . 
 
 •• Not here," said the Ethiopian ; "yet it is 
 beside us. The foot of a Roman has never en- 
 tered it. The secret remained with me alone. 
 Does my lord command that it shall be revealed J" 
 
 The order was given. The slave took down one 
 of the coats of mail, pushed back a valve, and we
 
 SALATHIEL. 105 
 
 entered a winding stair which led us downwards 
 for some minutes. The narrow passage and heavy 
 air reminded me of the subterranean. Our torches 
 burned dimly, and the visages of my attendants 
 showed how little their gallantry was to be relied 
 on ; if we were to be brought into contact with 
 magicians and ghosts. 
 
 " Here," said the Ethiopian, " it was the cus- 
 tom of the great king, in his declining years, when 
 his heart was broken by the loss of the most be- 
 loved of wives, and maddened by the conspiracies 
 of the princes his sons, to come and consult others 
 than the God of Jerusalem. Here the Chaldee 
 men of wisdom came to raise the spirits of the de- 
 parted, and show the fates of his kingdom. We 
 are now in the bowels of the mountain." 
 
 He loosed a chain, which disappeared into the 
 ground with a hollow noise. A huge mass of rock 
 slowly rolled back, and showed a depth of darkness 
 through which our twinkling torches scarcely made 
 wav. 
 
 " Stop," said the slave, " I should have first 
 lighted the shrine." He left us, and we shortly 
 saw a blaze of many colours or a tripod in the 
 centre. As the blaze strengthened, a scene of won- 
 der awoke before the eye. A host of armed men
 
 106 SALATHIEL. 
 
 grew upon the darkness. The immense vault was 
 peopled with groups of warriors, all the great mi- 
 litary leaders of the world, in their native arms, and 
 surrounded by a cluster of their captains ; the dis- 
 turbers of the earth, from Sesostris down to Caesar 
 and Antony, brandishing the lance, or reining the 
 charger, each in his known attitude of command. 
 There rushed Cyrus in the scythed chariot, sur- 
 rounded by his horsemen, barded from head to 
 heel. There Alexander, with the banner of Mace- 
 don waving above his head, and armed as when he 
 leaped into the Granicus. There Hannibal, upon 
 the elephant that he rode at Cannae. There 
 Caesar, with the head of Pompey at his feet. 
 Those, and a long succession of the masters of vic- 
 tory, each in the moment of supreme fortune, made 
 the vault a representative palace of human glory. 
 But the view from the entrance told but half the 
 tale. It was when I advanced and lifted the torch 
 to the countenance of the first group, that the 
 moral was visible. All the visages were those of 
 skeletons. The costly armour was upon bones. 
 The spears and sceptres were brandished by the 
 thin fingers of the grave. The vault was the 
 representative sepulchre of human vanity. 
 
 This was one of the fantastic fits of a mind
 
 SALATHIEL. 107 
 
 which felt too late the emptiness of earthly honours. 
 Half pagan, the powerful intellect of the man gave 
 way to the sullen superstitions of the murderer. 
 Egypt was still the mystic tyrant of Palestine ; and 
 Herod, in his despair, sank into the slave of a cre- 
 dulity at once weak and terrible. 
 
 In the last hours of a long and deeply varied 
 life, exhausted more by misery of soul than disease ; 
 when medicine was hopeless, and he had returned 
 from trying the famous springs of Callirhoe in vain, 
 the king ordered himself to be brought into this 
 vault, and left alone. He remained in it for some 
 hours. The attendants were at length roused by 
 hideous wailings ; they broke open the entrance, 
 and found him in a paroxysm of terror. The vault 
 was filled with the strong odours of some magical 
 preparations still burning on the tripod. The 
 sound of departing feet was heard, but Herod sat 
 alone. In accents of the wildest woe, he declared 
 that he had seen the statues filled with sudden 
 life, and charging him with the death of his wife 
 and children. 
 
 He left Masada instantly, pronouncing a curse 
 upon the hour in which he first listened to the arts 
 of Egypt. He was carried to Jericho, and there 
 laid on a bed from which he never rose. Alter- 
 nate bursts of blasphemy and remorse made his
 
 108 SALATHIEL. 
 
 parting moments frightful. But tyranny was in 
 his last thought ; and he died holding in his hand 
 the order for the massacre of every leading man in 
 Judea.
 
 SALATHIEL. 109 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The first decided blow of the war was given. 
 I had incurred the full wrath of Rome ; the trench 
 between me and forgiveness was impassable ; and 
 I felt a stern delight in the conviction that hope 
 of truce or pardon was at an end : the seizure of 
 Masada was a defiance of the whole power of the 
 empire. 
 
 But it had the higher importance of a triumph 
 at the beginning of a war, the moment when even 
 the courageous are perplexed by doubt, and the 
 timid watch their opportunity to raise the cry of 
 ill fortune. It showed the facility of conquest, 
 where men are determined to run the full risk of 
 good or evil ; it shook the military credit of the 
 enemy, by the proof that they could be over-
 
 110 SALATHIEL. 
 
 matched in activity, spirit, and conduct. The cap- 
 ture of a Roman fortress by assault was a thing 
 almost unheard of. But the consummate value 
 of the enterprise was in its declaration to those 
 who would fight ; that they had leaders, able and 
 willing to take the last chance with them for the 
 freedom of their country. 
 
 When day broke, and the strength of this cele- 
 brated fortress was fairly visible, I could scarcely 
 believe that our success was altogether the work 
 of man. The genius of ancient fortification pro- 
 duced nothing more remarkable than Masada. It 
 stood on the summit of a height, so steep that the 
 sun never reached the bottom of the surrounding 
 defiles. Its outer wall was a mile round, with 
 thirty-eight towers, each eighty feet high. Im- 
 mense marble cisterns ; granaries, like palaces, 
 capable of holding provisions for years ; exhaust- 
 less arms and military engines, in buildings of the 
 finest Greek art ; and defence.s of the most costly 
 skill, at every commanding point of the interior ; 
 showed the kingly magnificence and warlike care 
 of the most brilliant, daring, and successful mo- 
 narch of Judea, since Solomon. 
 
 By the first sun-beam, a new wonder struck the 
 multitude, whom the tumult of the night had 
 gathered on the neighbouring hills. I ordered the
 
 SALATHIEL. Ill 
 
 great standard of Naphtali to be hoisted on the 
 citadel. It was raised in the midst of shouts and 
 hymns ; and the huge scarlet folds spread out, ma- 
 jestically displaying the emblem of our tribe, the 
 Silver Stag, before the morn. Shouts echoed 
 and re-echoed round the horizon. The hill tops, 
 covered as far as the eye could reach, did homage 
 to the banner of Jewish deliverance ; and, in- 
 spired by the sight, every man of their thousands 
 took sword and spear, and made ready for battle. 
 
 My first care was to relieve the mind of my fa- 
 mily ; and Constantius, with triumph in every 
 feature, and love and honour glowing in his heart, 
 was made the bearer of the glad tidings. 
 
 The duties of command devolved rapidly on me. 
 An army to be raised — a plan of operations to be 
 determined on — the chieftains of the country to 
 be combined — and the profligate feuds of Jeru- 
 salem to be extinguished ; were difficulties that 
 lay before my first step. It is in preliminaries like 
 those, that the burning spirit of a man, full of the 
 manliest resolutions, and caring no more for per- 
 sonal safety than he cares for the weed under his 
 feet, is fated to feel the true troubles of high en- 
 terprise. 
 
 I soon experienced the wretchedness of having 
 to contend with the indolent, the artful, and the
 
 112 SALATHIEL. 
 
 base. My mmd, eager to follow up the first suc- 
 cess, was entangled in tedious and intricate nego- 
 ciation with men whom no sense of right or wrong 
 could stimulate to integrity. Rival interests to be 
 conciliated — gross corruptions to be crushed — 
 paltry passions to be stigmatised — family hatreds 
 to be reconciled — childish antipathies — grasfJing 
 avarice — giddy ambition — savage cruelty, to be 
 rectified, propitiated, or punished ; were among 
 my tasks, before I could plant a foot in the field. 
 If those are the fruits that grow round even the 
 righteous cause, what must be the rank crop of 
 conspiracy ! 
 
 But, one point I speedily settled. The first as- 
 semblage of the chieftains satisfied me of the ab- 
 surdity of councils of war. Every man had his 
 plan ; and every plan contemplated some per- 
 sonal object. I saw that to discuss them would be 
 useless and endless. I had already begun to learn 
 the diplomatic art of taking my own way, with the 
 most unruffled aspect. 1 begged of the proposers 
 to reduce their views to writing ; received their 
 papers with perfect civility ; took them, to my ca- 
 binet, and gave their brilliancy to add to the blaze 
 of my fire. High station is soon compelled to 
 dissemble. A month before, I should have spoken 
 out my mind, and treated the plans and the pro-
 
 SALATHIEL. 113 
 
 posers alike with scorn. But a month before, I 
 was neither general nor statesman. Freed from 
 the encumbrance of many councillors, I decided 
 on a rapid march to Jerusalem ; — there was power 
 and glory in the word : by this measure I should 
 be master of all that final victory could give, the 
 popular mind, the national resources, and the 
 highest prize of the most successful war. 
 
 Those thoughts banished rest from my pillow. 
 I passed day and night in a perpetual, feverish, 
 exaltation of mind ; yet, if I were to compute my 
 few periods of happiness, among them would be 
 the week when I could neither eat, drink, nor 
 sleep, from the mere overflowing of my warlike 
 reveries at Masada. 
 
 We may well forgive the splenetic apathy and 
 sullen scorn of life that beset the holder of power, 
 when time or chance leaves his grasp empty. The 
 mighty monarch ; the general, on whose sword 
 hung the balance of empires ; the statesman, on 
 whose council rose or sank the welfare of millions ; 
 fallen into inaction, sunk into the feeble and un- 
 exciting employments of common life, their genius 
 and their fame a burden and a reproach, the 
 source of a restless and indignant contrast be- 
 tween what they were and what they are ; how 
 feeble an emblem of such minds is the lion fanged,
 
 114 SALATHIEL. 
 
 or the eagle chained to a log ! We may pass by 
 even the fooleries which so often make the world 
 stare at the latter years of famous men. When 
 they can no longer soar to their natural height, all 
 beneath is equal to them ; our petty wisdom is not 
 worth their trouble. They scorn the little opi- 
 nions of common-place mankind, and follow their 
 own tastes — contemptuously trifle, and proudly 
 play the fool. 
 
 Before the week was out, I was at the head of 
 a hundred thousand men ; I was the champion of 
 a great country ; the leader of the most formidable 
 insurrection that ever contended with Rome in the 
 East, the general of an army whose fidelity and 
 spirit were not to be surpassed on earth. Could 
 ambition ask more ! There was even more, though 
 too seldom to be asked by human ambition. My 
 nation was sacred ; a cause above human nature 
 was to be fought for ; in that cause I might, at 
 once, redeem my own name from obscurity, and be 
 the instrument of exalting the name, authority, 
 and religion of a people, the regal people of the 
 Sovereign of all ! 
 
 Constantius returned. It was in vain that I had 
 directed my family to take refuge in the mountain 
 country of Naphtali. My authority was for once 
 disputed at home. Strong affection mastered fear.
 
 SALATHIEL. 115 
 
 and, swift as love could speed, I saw them enter- 
 ing the gates of Masada. 
 
 Such meetings can come but once in a life. 
 I was surrounded by innocent fondness, beauty 
 most admirable, and faith that no misfortunes 
 could shake ; and I was surrounded by them in an 
 hour when prosperity seemed labouring to lavish 
 on me all the wishes of man. I felt too, by 
 the glance with which Miriam looked upon her 
 " hero," that I had earned a higher title to the 
 world's respect. Had she found me in chains, she 
 would have shared them without a murmur. But 
 her lofty heart rejoiced to find her husband thus 
 vindicating his claims to the homage of mankind. 
 
 Yet to those matchless enjoyments I gave up 
 but one day. By the next dawn, the trumpet 
 sounded for the march. I knew the importance of 
 following up the first blow in all wars ; its indis- 
 pensable importance in a war of insurrection. To 
 meet the disciplined troops of Rome in pitched 
 battles would be madness. The true manoeuvre 
 was, to distract their attention by variety of onset, 
 cut off their communications, keep their camps in 
 perpetual alarm, and make our activity, numbers, 
 and knowledge of the country, the substitutes for 
 equipment, experience, and the science of the sol- 
 dier.
 
 IIG SALATHIEL. 
 
 In summoning those brave men, I adhered to 
 the regulations of the law of our prophet ; a law 
 whose humanity and regard for natural feelings 
 distinguished it in the most striking manner from 
 the stern violences of the pagan levy. No man 
 was required to take up arms, who had built 
 a house, and had not dedicated it ; no man who had 
 planted a vineyard or olive ground, and had not 
 yet reaped the produce ; no man who had be- 
 trothed a wife, and had not yet taken her home ; 
 and, no man during the first year of his marriage. 
 
 My prisoners were my last embarrassment. To 
 leave them to the chance of popular mercy, or to 
 leave them immured in the fortress, would be 
 cruelty. To let them loose would be, of course, to 
 give so many soldiers to the enemy. I adopted the 
 simpler expedient of marching them to Berytus, 
 seizing a detachment of the Roman provision 
 ships, and embarking the whole for Italy. 
 
 To my old friend the captain, whose cheerful- 
 ness could be abated only by a failure of the vin- 
 tage, I offered a tranquil settlement among our 
 hills. The etiquette of soldiership was formidably 
 tasked by my offer, for the veteran was thoroughly 
 weary of his thankless service. He hesitated, 
 swore that I deserved to be a Rom.an, and even 
 a captain of horse ; but finished by saying that.
 
 SALATHIEL. 117 
 
 l)ac] a trade as the army was, he was too old to 
 learn a better. I gave him and some others their 
 unconditional liberty ; and he parted from the 
 Jewish rebel with more obvious regret, than per- 
 haps he ever dreamed himself capable of feeling 
 for any thing but his horse and his bottle. 
 
 Eleazar took the charge of my family, and the 
 command of Masada. The sun burst out with 
 cheerful omen on the troops, as I wound down the 
 steep road, named the Serpent, from its extreme 
 obliquity. The sight before me was of a nature to 
 exhilarate the heaviest heart; an immense host 
 making the air ring with acclamations at the 
 coming of their chieftain. The mental perspective 
 of public honours and national service was still 
 more exalting. Yet I felt a boding depression, as 
 if within those walls had begun and ended my 
 prosperity. 
 
 On the first ridge which crossed our march, T 
 instinctively stopped to give a farewell look. The 
 breeze had sunk, and the scarlet banner shook out 
 its folds to the sun no more; a cloud hung on the 
 mountain peak, and covered the fortress with 
 gloom. I turned away. The omen was true! 
 
 But sickly thoughts were forgotten, when we 
 were once fairly on the march. Who that has 
 ever moved with an army, has not known its ready
 
 118 SALATHIEL. 
 
 cure for heaviness of heart i The sound of the 
 moving- multitude, their broad mirth, the mere 
 trampling of their feet, the picturesque lights that 
 fall upon the columns as they pass over the in- 
 equalities of the ground, keep the eye and the 
 mind singularly alive. 
 
 Our men felt the whole delight of the scene, 
 and gambolled like deer, or horses let loose into 
 pasture. But, to the military habits of Con- 
 stantius, this rude vigour was the highest vexation. 
 He galloped from flank to flank with hopeless 
 diligence, found that his arrangements only per- 
 plexed our bold peasantry the more, and at length 
 fairly relinquished the idea of gaining any degree 
 of credit by the brilliancy of their discipline. But 
 I, no more a tactician than themselves, was con- 
 tent with seeing in them the material of the true 
 soldier. The spear was carried rudely, but the hand 
 that carried it was strong ; the march was ir- 
 regular, but the step was firm ; if there was song, 
 and mirth, and clamour, they were the cheerful 
 voices of the brave ; and I could read in the 
 countenances of ranks, which no skill could keep 
 in order, the hardihood and generous devotedness 
 that, in wars like ours, have so often baflled the 
 proud, and left of the mighty but clay. 
 
 During the day we saw no enemy, and drove
 
 SALATHIEL. 119 
 
 along with the unembarrassed step of men going 
 up to one of the festivals. The march was hot ; 
 the zeal of our young soldiers made it rapid ; and 
 we continued it long after the usual hour of re- 
 pose. But then sleep took its thorough revenge. It 
 was fortunate for our fame that the enemy were 
 not nigh ; for sleep fastened irresistibly and at 
 once upon the whole multitude. Sentinels were 
 planted in vain ; the spears fell from their hands, 
 and the watchers were tranquilly laid side by side 
 with the slumbering. Outposts and the usual 
 precautionary arrangements were equally useless. 
 Sleep was our master. Constantius exerted his 
 vigilance with fruitless activity ; and, before an 
 hour passed, he and I were probably the sole 
 sentinels of the grand army of Judea. 
 
 " What can be done with such sluggards ?" 
 said he, indignantly pointing to the heaps that, 
 wrapped in their cloaks, covered the fields far 
 round, and in the moonlight looked more like 
 surges tipped with foam than human beings. 
 
 "What can be done? — wonders." 
 
 " Will they ever be able to manoeuvre in tlie 
 face of the legions ?" 
 
 " Never." 
 
 " Will they ever be able to move like regular 
 troops?"
 
 120 SALATHIEL. 
 
 " Never." 
 
 •' Will they ever be able to keep their eyes open 
 after sunset ?" 
 
 " Never, after such a inarch as we have given 
 them to-day." 
 
 "What then, under heaven, will they be good 
 
 for?" 
 
 " To beat the Romans out of Palestine !"
 
 SALATHIEL. 121 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Before the sun was up, my peasants were on 
 the march again. From the annual journeys of 
 the tribes to the great city, no country was ever 
 known so well to its whole population as Palestine. 
 Every hill, forest, and mountain stream, was 
 now saluted with a shout of old recognition. Dis- 
 cipline was forgotten, as we approached those spots 
 of memory ; and the troops rambled loosely over 
 the ground on which in gentler times they had 
 rested in the midst of their caravans. Constantius 
 had many an irritation to encounter ; but I com- 
 bated his wrath, and pledged myself, that when 
 the occasion arrived, my countrymen would show 
 the native vigour of the soil. 
 
 " Let my peasants take their way," said I. " If 
 VOL. II. F
 
 122 SALATHIEL. 
 
 they will not make an army, let them make a 
 mob ; let them come into the field with the bold 
 propensities and generous passions of their nature, 
 unchecked by the trammels of regular warfare ; 
 let them feel themselves men and not machines, 
 and I pledge myself for their victory." 
 
 "They will soon have the opportunity: look 
 yonder. ' He pointed to a low range of misty 
 hills some miles onward. 
 
 " Are we to fight the clouds? for I can see 
 nothing else." 
 
 " Our troops, I think, would be exactly the 
 proper antagonists. But there is one cloud upon 
 those hills, that something more than the wind 
 must drive away." 
 
 The sun threw a passing gleam upon the heights, 
 and it was returned by the sparkling of spears. 
 The enemy was before us. Constantius galloped 
 with some of our hunters to the front, to observe 
 their })osition. The trumpets sounded, and my 
 countrymen justified all that I had said, by the 
 enthusiasm that lighted up every countenance at 
 the hope of coming into contact with the op- 
 pressor. 
 
 We advanced ; shouts rang from tribe to tribe; 
 we quickened our pace; at length the whole 
 multitude ran. At the foot of the height every
 
 SALATHIEL. 123 
 
 man pushed forward without waiting for his fellow ; 
 it was a complete confusion. The chief force 
 against us was cavalry, and I saw them preparing 
 to charge. We must suffer prodigiously, let the 
 day end how it would. The whole campaign 
 might hang on the first repulse. I stood in agony. 
 I saw the squadrons level their lances. I saw the 
 centurions dash out in front. All was ready for 
 the fatal charge. To my astonishment, the whole 
 of the cavalry wheeled round and disappeared. 
 
 The panic was like miracle — equally rapid and 
 unaccountable. I rode to the top of the hill, and 
 discovered the secret. Constantius, observing the 
 enemy's attention taken up with my advance, had 
 made his way round the heights. His trumpet 
 gave the first notice of the manoeuvre. Their rear 
 was threatened, and the cavalry fled, leaving a 
 cohort in our hands. 
 
 The first success in war is as full of consequences 
 as the first repulse. The flight and capture of any 
 fragment of the legions was magnified into a sign 
 of perpetual triumph. But never was successful 
 soldier honoured with a more clamorous triumph 
 than Constantius. Nature speaks out among her 
 untutored sons. Envy has nothing to do in such 
 fields as ours. He was applauded to the skies. 
 
 " Well," said I, as I pressed the gallant hand
 
 124 SALATHIEL. 
 
 that had planted the first laurel on our brows ; 
 " you see that, if ploughmen and shepherds make 
 rude soldiers, they make capital judges of soldier- 
 ship. You might have conquered a kingdom 
 without receiving half this panegyric in Rome." 
 
 " The service is but begun, and we shall have 
 another lesson to get or give before to-morrow. 
 Those fellows are grateful, I allow," said he, with 
 a smile, " but you must allow that, for what has 
 been done, we have to thank the discipline that 
 brought us in the Roman rear." 
 
 " Yes, and the discipline that made them so 
 much alarmed about their rear, as to run away ; 
 when they might have charged and beaten us." 
 
 This little affair put us all in spirits, and the 
 songs and cheerful clamours burst out with renewed 
 animation. But (he symptoms of the enemy soon 
 became thicker. We found the ruined cottage, 
 the torn-up garden, the burnt orchard; those 
 habitual evidences of the camp. As we advanced, 
 the tracks of waggons and of the huge wheels of 
 the military engines were fresh in the grass, and 
 from time to time some skeleton of a beast of bur- 
 den, or some half-covered wreck of man, showed 
 that desolation had walked there ; the cavalry soon 
 showed themselves on the heights in larger bodies ; 
 but all was forgotten in the sight that at length
 
 SALA-THIEL. 125 
 
 rose upon the horizon ; we behckl, bathed in the 
 richest glow of a summer's eve, the summits of the 
 mountains round Jerusalem, and glorious above 
 them, like another sun, the golden beauty of the 
 Temple of temples. 
 
 What Jew ever saw that sight but with homage 
 of heart ? Fine fancies may declaim of the rapture 
 of returning- to one's country after long years. 
 Rapture ! to find ourselves in a land of strangers, 
 ourselves forgotten, our early scenes so changed, 
 that we can scarcely retrace them, filled up with 
 new faces, or with the old so worn by time and 
 care, that we read in them nothing but the empti- 
 ness of human hope ; the whole world new, frivolous, 
 and contemptuous of our feelings. Where is the 
 mother, the sister, the woman of our heart ? we 
 find their only memorials among the dead, and 
 bitterly feel that our true country is the tomb. 
 
 But the return to Zion was not of the things of 
 this world. The Jew saw before him the city of 
 prophecy and power. Mortal thoughts, individual 
 sorrows, the melancholy experiences of human 
 life, had no place among the mighty hopes that 
 gathered over it, like angels' wings. Restoration, 
 boundless empire, imperishable glory, were the 
 writing upon its bulwarks. It stood before him 
 the Universal City, whose gates were to be open
 
 126 SALATHIEL. 
 
 for the reverence of all time ; the symbol to the 
 earth of the returning presence of the Great King; 
 the promise to the Jew of an empire, triumphant 
 over the casualties of nations, the crimes of man, 
 and the all-grasping avarice of the grave. 
 
 TJje multitude prostrated themselves ; then 
 rising, broke forth into the glorious hymn sung 
 by the tribes on their journeys to the Temple. 
 
 " Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised 
 in the city of our God, the mountain of his holi- 
 ness. 
 
 " Beautiful, the joy of the earth is Mount Zion, 
 the city of the Great King ! 
 
 "■ God is known in her palaces for a refuge. 
 
 " We have thought of thy loving-kindness, 
 O God, in the midst of thy temple. 
 
 " Walk about Zion, tell the towers thereof. 
 Mark ye her bulwarks, consider her palaces. For 
 her God is our God, for ever and ever; he will 
 be our guide in death ; his praise is to the ends 
 of the earth. Glory to the King of Zion." 
 
 The harmony of the adoring myriads rose sweet 
 and solemn upon the air ; the sky was a canopy of 
 sapphire ; the breeze rich with the evening flowers ; 
 Jerusalem before me ! I felt as if the covering of 
 my mortal nature were about to be cast away, and 
 my spirit to go forth, divested of its grosser in-
 
 SALATHIEL. 127 
 
 cumbrances, on a bright and boundless career of 
 fortujje. 
 
 But recollections never to be subdued, saddened 
 my memory of the Temple; and when the first 
 influence of the worship passed, I turned from the 
 sight of what was to me the eternal monument of 
 the heaviest crime and calamity of man. T gave 
 one parting glance, as day died upon the spires. 
 To my surprise, they were darkened by more than 
 twilight; I glanced again, smoke rolled cloud on 
 cloud over Mount Moriah ; flame, and the distant 
 roar of battle startled us. " Had the enemy anti- 
 cipated our march, and was Jerusalem about to be 
 stormed before our eyes J" 
 
 We were not long left to conjecture. Crowds 
 of frightened women and children were seen flying 
 across the country. The roar swelled again ; we 
 answered it by cries of indignation, and rushed 
 onward. Unable to ascertain the point of attack, 
 I halted the multitude at the entrance of one of 
 the roads ascending to the Great gate of the Upper 
 city, and galloped forward with a few of my 
 people. 
 
 A horseman rushed from the gate with a heed- 
 less rapidity, which must have flung him into the 
 midst of us, or sent him over the precipice. His 
 voice alone enabled me to recognise in this furious
 
 128 SALATHIEL. 
 
 rider my kinsman Jubal. But never had a few 
 months so altered a human being. Instead of the 
 bold and martial figure of the chieftain, 1 saw an 
 emaciated and exhausted man, apparently in the 
 last stage of life or sorrow ; the florid cheek was 
 of the colour of clay ; the flashing glance was 
 sunken ; the loud and cheerful voice was sepul- 
 chral. I welcomed him with the natural regard 
 of our relationship : but his perturbation was fear- 
 ful ; he trembled, grew fiery red, and could return 
 my greeting only with a feeble tongue and a wild 
 eye. 
 
 But this was no tinie for private feelings. I 
 inquired the state of things in Jerusalem. Here 
 his embarrassment was thrown aside, and the 
 natural energy of the man found room. "Jeru- 
 salem has three curses at this hour," said he, 
 fiercely, " the priests, the people, and the Romans ; 
 and the last is the lightest of the three : — the 
 priests bloated with indulgence, and mad with 
 love of the world ; the people pampered with 
 faction, and mad with bigotry ; and the Romans 
 availing themselves of the madness of each, to 
 crush all." 
 
 " But has the assault been actuallv made ? or 
 is there force enough within to repel it?" inter- 
 rupted I.
 
 SALATHIEL. 129 
 
 " The assault has been made, and the enemy 
 have driven every thing before them, so far as 
 has been their pleasure. Why they have not 
 pushed on is inconceivable ; for our regular 
 troops are good for nothing. I have been sent 
 out to raise the villages ; but my labour will be 
 useless, for, see, the eagles are already on the 
 wall." 
 
 I looked ; on the northern quarter of the battle- 
 ments I saw, through smoke and flame, the 
 accursed standard. Below, rose immense bursts 
 of conflagration ; the whole of the New City, the 
 Bezetha, was on fire. 
 
 My plan was instantly formed. I divided my 
 force into two bodies; gave one to Constantius, 
 with orders to enter the city, and beat the Romans 
 from the walls; and with the other, threaded the 
 ravines towards their position on the hills. I had 
 to make a long circuit. The Roman camp was 
 pitched on the ridge of Mount Scopas, seven 
 furlongs from the city. Guided by Jubal, I 
 gained its rear. My troops, stimulated by the 
 sight of the fugitive people, required all my 
 efforts to keep them from rushing on the detach- 
 ments that we saw successively hurrying to rein- 
 force the assault. 
 
 Night fell; but the signal for my attack, a
 
 130 SALATHIEL. 
 
 fixed number of torches on the tower of the 
 Temple, did not appear. The troops, ambushed 
 in the olive-groves skirting- the ridge, had hitherto 
 escaped discovery. At length they grew furious, 
 and bore me along with them. As we burst up 
 the rugged sides of the hill, like a huge surge 
 before the tempest, I cast a despairing glance 
 towards the City : the torches at that moment 
 rose. Hope lived again. I pointed them out to 
 the troops : the sight added wings to their speed ; 
 and, before the enemy could recover from their 
 astonishment, we were in the centre of the camp. 
 
 Nothing could be more complete than our suc- 
 cess. The legionaries, sure of the morning's 
 march into Jerusalem, and the plunder of the 
 Temple, were caught leaning in crowds over the 
 ramparts, unarmed, and making absolute holiday. 
 Caius Cestius, their insolent general, was carousing 
 in his tent after the fatigues of the evening. The 
 tribunes followed his example; the soldiery saw 
 nothing to require their superior abstemiousness ; 
 and the wine was flowing freely in healths to the 
 next day's rapine, when our roar opened their 
 eyes. To resist was out of the question. Fifty 
 thousand spearmen, as daring as ever lifted wea- 
 pon, and inflamed with the feelings of their ha- 
 rassed country, were in their midst, and they ran
 
 S A LATHI EL. 131 
 
 in all directions. I pressed on to the general's 
 tent ; but the prize had escaped : he was gone on 
 the first alarm. My followers indignantly set it 
 on fire : the blaze spread, and the flame of the 
 Roman camp rolled up, like the tlame of a sacrifice 
 to the god of battles. 
 
 The seizure of the position was the ruin of the 
 detachments abandoned between the hill and the 
 city. At the sight of the flames, the gates were 
 flung open ; and Constantius drove the assailants 
 from point to point, until our shouts told him that 
 we were marching upon their rear. The shock 
 then was final. The cohorts, dispirited and sur- 
 prised, broke like water; and scarcely a man of 
 them lived to boast of having insulted the walls of 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Day arose; and the Temple met the rising 
 beam, unstained by the smoke of an enemv's fire. 
 The wreck of the legions lay upon the declivities, 
 like the fragments of a fleet on the shore. But 
 this sight, painful even to an enemy, was soon 
 forgotten in the concourse of the rescued citizens, 
 the exultation of the troops, and the still more 
 seducing vanities that filled the heart of their 
 chieftain. 
 
 Towards noon, a long train of the principal 
 people, headed by the priests and elders, was
 
 132 SALATHIEL. 
 
 seen issuing from the gates to congratulate me. 
 Music and triumphant shouts announced their 
 approach through the valley. My heart bounded 
 with the feelings of a conqueror. The whole long 
 vista of national honours ; the popular praise, the 
 personal dignity, the power of trampling upon the 
 malignant, the clearance of my character, the 
 right to take the future lead on all occasions of 
 public service and princely renown ;, opened before 
 my dazzled eye. 
 
 I was standing alone upon the brow of the pro- 
 montory. As far as the eye could reach, all was 
 in motion, and all was directed to me : the homage 
 of soldiery, priests, and people, centred in my 
 single being. I involuntarily uttered aloud — " At 
 last I shall enter Jerusalem in triumph," I heard 
 a voice at my side — " Never shall you enter Je- 
 rusalem but in sorrow !" 
 
 An indescribable pang accompanied the words. 
 There was not a living soul near me to have ut- 
 tered them. The troops were standing at a distance 
 below, and in perfect silence. The words were 
 spoken close to my ear But I fatally knew the 
 voice, and conjecture was at an end. 
 
 My limbs felt powerless, as if I had been struck 
 by lightning. I called Jubal up the peak to assist 
 me. But the blow that smote my frame seemed to
 
 SALATHTEL, 133 
 
 have smote his mind. His look had grown tenfold 
 more haggard in this single night. His eyes rolled 
 wildly ; his speech was a collection of unmeaning 
 sounds, or the language of a fierce disturbance of 
 thought, altogether unintelligible. A lunatic stood 
 before me. 
 
 Was this to be the foretaste of my own in- 
 flictions I I shuddered as the past horrors rose upon 
 my memory. Or was I to see my kindred, friends, 
 family, put under the yoke of bodily and mental 
 misery, as a menace of the punishment that was to 
 cut asunder my connexion with human nature ?
 
 134 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 In pain and tenor I drew my unfortunate 
 kinsman from the gaze of the troops; and en- 
 treated him to tell me, by what melancholy chance 
 his feelings had been thus disturbed. He looked at 
 me with a fierce glance, and half unsheathed his 
 dagger. But I was not to be repelled, and still 
 laboured to soothe him. He hurriedly grasped the 
 weapon, flung it down the steep, and sinking at 
 my feet, burst into tears. 
 
 An uproar in the valley roused me from the con- 
 templation of this wreck of youth and hope. The 
 enemy, though defeated, had suffered little com- 
 parative loss. The pride of the legions could not 
 brook the idea of defeat, by what they deemed the 
 rabble of the city and the fields. Cestius, under
 
 SALATHIEL. i35 
 
 cover of the broken country on our flanks, had 
 rallied the fugitives of the camp ; and now, be- 
 tween me and the city, were rapidly advancing in 
 columns, forty thousand men. 
 
 The manoeuvre was bold. It might either cut 
 us off from Jerusalem, and force us to fight at a 
 ruinous disadvantage, or leave the city totally ex- 
 posed. But, like all daring games, it was peri- 
 lous ; and I was determined to make the haughty 
 Roman feel that he had an antagonist who would 
 not leave the game at his discretion. 
 
 From the pinnacle on which I stood, the Avhole 
 champaign lay beneath me. Nothing could be 
 lovelier. The grandest combinations of art and 
 nature were before the eye — Jerusalem on her 
 hills, a city of palaces, and in that hour displaying 
 her full pomp ; her towers streaming with banners ; 
 her battlements crowded with troops ; her priest- 
 hood and citizens in their festal habits, pouring 
 from the colossal gates, and covering the plain 
 with processions ; that plain itself, coloured and 
 teeming with the richest produce of the earth ; 
 groves of the olive ; declivities, purple with the 
 vine, or yellow with corn, gleaming in the sun, 
 sheets of vegetable gold, richer than ever was dug 
 from Indian mine. 
 
 I gazed, with an eye enraptured by the scene of
 
 136 SALATHIEL." 
 
 beauty ; but the signals of my advanced parties 
 along the heights soon told me that the enemy 
 were in movement. 
 
 My plan was already adopted. On the right 
 spread the plain ; on the left lay the broken and 
 hilly country, through which the enemy were 
 moving by the three principal ravines. I felt 
 that, if they could unite and form, success, with 
 our undisciplined levies, was desperate. The only 
 hope was, of beating the columns separately, as 
 they emerged into the plain. The moment of 
 action was rapidly arriving. Cavalry had begun 
 to scatter over the ground, and ride down upon 
 the processions ; which, startled at the sight, were 
 instantly scattered, and flying towards Jerusalem. 
 
 " The day of congratulations is clearly over," 
 said Jubal, pointing in scorn to the dispersed citi- 
 zens. " To-day, at least, you will not receive the 
 homage of those hypocrites of the Sanhedrim." 
 
 " Nor, perhaps, to-morrow, fellow-soldier; for 
 we must first see of what materials those columns 
 are made. If we beat them, we shall save the 
 elders the trouble of crossing the plain, and re- 
 ceive our honours within the walls." 
 
 " In Jerusalem !" exclaimed he, wildly. "No; 
 never ! You have dangers to encounter within 
 those walls that no art of man could withstand ;
 
 SALATHIEL. 137 
 
 dangers keener than the dagger, more deadly than 
 the aspic, more resistless than the force of armies ! 
 Enter Jerusalem, and you are undone." 
 
 I looked upon him with astonishment. But 
 there was in his eye a sad humility, a strangely 
 imploring glance, that formed the most singular 
 contrast to the wildness of his words. " Be 
 warned !" said he, pressing close, as if he dreaded 
 that his secret should be overheard. " I have seen 
 horrid things, I have heard horrid things, since I 
 last entered the city. Beware of the leaders of 
 Jerusalem! I tell you that they have fearful 
 power, that their hate is inexorable, and that you 
 are its great victim !" 
 
 " This is altogether beyond my conception : how 
 have I offended?" 
 
 '* I know not ; but mysterious things are 
 whispered. You are charged with unutterable 
 acts. Your sudden abandonment of the priest- 
 hood ; sights seen in your deserted chambers, 
 which not even the most daring would venture to 
 inhabit ; your escape from dangers, that must 
 have extinguished any other human being, have 
 bred fatal rumours. It has been said that you 
 worshipped in the bowels of the mountain of 
 Masada, where the magic fire burns eternally be- 
 fore the form of the Evil One; that you even
 
 138 SALATHIEL. 
 
 conquered the fortress, impreg-Dable as it was to 
 man, by a horrid compact ; and that the raising 
 of your standard was the declared sign of that 
 compact, dreadfully to be repaid by you and 
 yours !" 
 
 " Monstrous and incredible calumny ! Where 
 was their evidence ? My actions were before the 
 face of the world. — Hypocrites and villains !" 
 
 " If your virtues were written in a sun-beam, 
 envy would darken, malice pervert, and hatred 
 destroy," exclaimed my kinsman, with the bold 
 countenance and manly feeling of his better days. 
 " They have in their secret councils stained you 
 with a fate more gloomy than I can comprehend 
 that you are sentenced to even here the mi- 
 sery reserved for the guilty beyond the grave." 
 
 I felt as if he had stricken a lance through my 
 heart. Mortal sickness seized on every vein. My 
 blood was ice. Fiery sparkles shot before my 
 eyes. " There," thought I, " is the first infliction 
 of the sentence that is to separate, to smite, to 
 pursue me, to the last hour of time !" 
 
 I instinctively put my Jiand to my brow, to feel 
 if the mark of Cain were not already there. I 
 gave one hurried glance at Heaven, as if to see 
 the form of the destroying angel stooping over me. 
 
 But the consciousness that I was in the presence
 
 SALATHIEL. 139 
 
 of the multitude, compelled me to master my 
 feelings. I assumed a desperate firmness, and 
 commanded Jubal to be ready with his proofs of 
 those calumnies, against the time when I should 
 confound my accusers. But I spoke to the winds. 
 I need have dreaded no observer in him. The in- 
 
 t 
 
 terval of reason was gone. He burst out into the 
 fiercest horrors. 
 
 " They pursue me !" exclaimed he ; " they come 
 by thousands, with the poniard and the poison ! 
 They cry for blood ! they would drive me to a 
 crime black as their own !" 
 
 He flung himself at my feet; and clasping them, 
 prevented every effort to save him from this de- 
 gradation. He buried his face in my robe; and 
 casting up a scared look from time to time, as if 
 he shrank from some object of terror, apostrophised 
 his vision. 
 
 "Fearful being," he cried, "spare me! turn 
 away those searching eyes! I have sworn to do the 
 deed, and it shall be done. I have sworn it against 
 faith and honour, against the ties of nature, against 
 the laws of Heaven ; but it shall be done. Now, 
 begone ! See !" He cowered, pointing to a cloud 
 that floated across the sun ; " see ! he spreads his 
 wings, he hovers over me ; the thunders are 
 flaming in his hands. Begone, Spirit of power and
 
 140 SALATHIEL. 
 
 evil ! It shall be done ! Look, where he vanishes 
 into the heights of his kingdom ! the prince of the 
 power of the air," 
 
 The cloud which fed the fancy of my unfor- 
 tunate kinsman dissolved, and with it his fear of 
 the tempter. But he lay exhausted at my feet, — 
 his eyes closed, his limbs shuddering, — the emblem 
 of weakness and despair. I tried to rouse him by 
 that topic which would once have shot new life 
 into his heroic heart. 
 
 " Rise, Jubal; and see the enemy, whom we 
 have so long thirsted to meet. This battle must 
 not be fought without- you. To-day, neither magic 
 nor chance shall be imputed to the conqueror, if I 
 shall conquer. Jerusalem sees the battle; and 
 before the face of my country I will show the 
 faculties that make the leader, or will leave the 
 last drop of my blood upon those fields." 
 
 The warrior kindled within him. He sprang 
 from the ground, and shot dow^n an eagle glance 
 at the enemy, who had made rapid progress, and 
 were beginning to show the heads of their columns 
 in the plain. He was unarmed. I gave him my 
 sword ; and the proud humility with which he put 
 it to his lips, was a pledge to me that it would be 
 honoured in his hands. 
 
 " Glorious thing!" he exclaimed, as he flashed
 
 SALATHIEL. 141 
 
 it before the sun, " that raises man at once to the 
 height of human honours, or sends him where no 
 care can disturb his rest ; thou art the true 
 sceptre that guards and graces empire ; the true 
 talisman, more powerful than all the arts of 
 the enchanter ! What, like thee, can lift up the 
 lowly, enrich the destitute, restore the undone? 
 What talent, consummate knowledge, gift of 
 nature, nay, what smile of fortune can, like thee, 
 in one hour bid the obscure stand forth the idol of 
 a people, or the wonder of a world? Now, for 
 glory !" he shouted to the listening circle of the 
 troops, who answered him with shouts. — " Now, 
 for glory !" they cried, and poured after him down 
 the side of the mountain. 
 
 The three gorges of the valleys through which 
 the enemy moved, opened into the plain at wide 
 intervals from each other. I delayed our march 
 until the moment at which the nearest column 
 should show its head. I saw that the eagerness of 
 Cestius to reach the open ground was already 
 hurrying his columns ; and that, from the compa- 
 rative facilities of the ravine immediately under 
 my position, the nearest column must arrive un- 
 supported. 
 
 The moment came. The helmets and spears 
 were already pouring from the pass, when a gesture
 
 142 SALATHIEL. 
 
 of my hand let loose the whole human torrent upon 
 them. Our advantage of the ground, our num- 
 bers, and impetuosity, decided the fate of this 
 division at once. The legionaries were not merely 
 repulsed, they were absolutely trampled down ; 
 they lay as if a mighty wall, or a fragment of the 
 mountain, had fallen upon them. 
 
 The two remaining columns were still to be 
 fought. Their solid front, the compact and broad 
 mass of iron that rushed down the ravines, seemed 
 irresistible ; and when I cast a glance on the irre- 
 gular and waving lines behind me, I felt the whole 
 peril of the day. Yet I feared idly. The enemy 
 charged, and forced their way into the very centre 
 of the multitude, like two vast wedges crushing all 
 before them. But though they could repel, they 
 could not conquer. The spirit of the Jew fighting 
 before Jerusalem was more than heroism. To ex- 
 tinguish a Roman, though at the instant loss of 
 life; to disable a single spear, though by receiving 
 it in his bosom ; to encumber with his corpse the 
 steps of the adversary, was reward enough for the 
 man of Israel. 
 
 I saw crowds of those bold peasants fling them- 
 selves on the ground, to creep in between the feet 
 of the legionaries, and die stabbing them ; others 
 casting away the lance to seize the Roman buck-
 
 SALATHIEL. 143 
 
 lers, and encumber them with the strong grasp of 
 death : crowds mounted the rising grounds, and 
 leaped down on the spears. 
 
 The enemy, overborne wi,th the weight of the 
 multitude, at length found it impossible to move 
 further ; yet their solid strength was not to be 
 broken. Wherever we turned, there was the 
 same wall of shields, the same thick fence of le- 
 velled lances. We might as well have assaulted a 
 rock. Our arrows rebounded from their impene- 
 trable armour ; the stones that poured on them 
 from innumerable slings, rolled off like the hail 
 of a summer shower from a roof. But, to have 
 stopped the columns, and prevented their junc- 
 tion, was itself a triumph. I felt that thus we had 
 scarcely to do more than fix them where they 
 stood, and leave the intense heat of the day, 
 thirst, and weariness, to fight our battle. But my 
 troops were not to be restrained. They still rolled 
 in furious heaps against the living fortification. 
 Every broken lance in that impenetrable barrier, 
 every pierced helmet was a trophy ; the fall of a 
 single legionary roused a shout of exultation, and 
 was the signal for a new charge. 
 
 But the battle was no longer to be left to our 
 unassisted efforts. The troops in Jerusalem moved 
 down, with Constantius at their head. In the
 
 144 SALATHIEL. 
 
 perpetual roar of the conflict, their shouts escaped 
 my ear; and my first intelligence of their advance 
 was from Jubal, who had well redeemed his pledge 
 during the day. Hurrying with him to one of 
 the eminences that overlooked the field, I saw 
 with pride and delight the standard of Naphtali 
 spreading its red folds at the head of the advanc- 
 ing multitude. "Who commands them?" asked 
 Jubal eagerly. 
 
 " Who should command them, with that banner 
 at their head," replied I, " but my son, my brave 
 Constantius ?" 
 
 He heard no more ; but, bending his turban to 
 the saddle bow, struck the spur into his horse, 
 and, with a cry of madness, plunged into the centre 
 of the nearest column. The stroke came upon it 
 like a thundei'bolt ; the phalanx wavered for the 
 first time ; a space was broken into its ranks. The 
 chasm was filled up by a charge of my hunters. 
 To save or die with Jubal, was the impulse ! That 
 charge was never recovered ; the column loosened, 
 the multitude pressed in upon it, and Constantius 
 arrived only in time to see the remnant of the 
 proud Roman army flying to the disastrous shelter 
 of the ravine. 
 
 The day was won — I was a conqueror! The 
 nvincible legious were invincible no more. I had
 
 SALATHIEL. 145 
 
 conquered under the gaze of Jerusalem ! Where 
 was the enmity that would dare to murmur against 
 me now ? What calumny would not be crushed 
 by the force of national gratitude? A flood of 
 absorbing sensations filled my soul. No eloquence 
 of man could express the glowing and superb 
 consciousness that swelled my heart, in the moment 
 when I saw the Romans shake, and heard the 
 shouts of my army proclaiming me victor ! 
 
 After that day, I can forgive the boldest ex- 
 travagance of the boldest passion for war. That 
 passion is not cruelty, nor the thirst of possession, 
 nor the longing for supremacy ; but something- 
 made up of them all, and yet superior to all — the 
 essential spirit of the stirring motives of the 
 human mind — the fever of the gamester, kindled 
 
 by the loftiest objects, and ennobled by them a 
 
 game where the stake is an endless inheritance of 
 renown, a sudden lifting of the man into the rank 
 of those on whose names time can make no im- 
 pression ; who, let their place on earth be what it 
 may, are at the head of mankind. Immortals, 
 without undergoing the penalty of the grave ! 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 146 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER Xr. 
 
 I DETERMINED to give the enemy no respite, 
 and ordered the ravines to be attacked by fresh 
 troops. While they were advancing, T galloped 
 in search of Jubal over the ground of the last 
 charge. He was not to be seen among the living 
 or the dead. 
 
 The look of the field, when the first glow of 
 battle passed, was enough to shake a sterner spirit 
 than mine. Our advance to the gorges of the 
 mountain had left the plain naked. The sea of 
 turbans and lances was gone rolling, like the swell 
 of an angry ocean, against the foot of the hills. 
 All before us was the precipitous rock, or the 
 rocky pass, thronged with helmets and spears. 
 But all behind was death, or miserv worse than
 
 SALATHIEL. 147 
 
 death ; hundreds and thousands groaning in agony, 
 crying out for water to cool their burning lips, im- 
 ploring the sword to put them out of pain. The 
 legionaries lay in their ranks, as they had fought ; 
 solid piles of men, horses, and arms, the true 
 monuments of soldiership. The veterans of Rome 
 had gallantly sustained the honours of her name, 
 
 I turned from this sight towards the rescued 
 city. The sun was resting on its towers ; the 
 smokes of the evening sacrifice were ascending in 
 slow wreaths from the altar of the sanctuarv. The 
 trumpets and voices of the minstrels poured a rich 
 stream of harmony on the cool air. The recol- 
 lection of gentler times came upon my heart. 
 Through what scenes of anxious feeling had I not 
 passed, since those gates closed upon me ! 
 
 The contrast between the holy calm of my early 
 days, and the fierce struggles of my doomed exis- 
 tence, pressed with bitter force. My spirit shook. 
 The warrior enthusiasm was chilled. The sounds 
 of triumph rang hollow in my ear ; and those who 
 had at that hour looked upon the man of victory, 
 the champion of Israel, would have seen but a 
 helpless wretch, hiding his face from human view; 
 and wishing that he could exchange fates with the 
 mangled shapes beside him. 
 
 The trampling of horses roused me from this
 
 148 SALATHIEL. 
 
 unwarlike weakness. Constantius came glowing 
 to communicate the intelligence that the last of 
 the enemy had been driven in, and that his fresh 
 troops only awaited my orders to force the passes. 
 I mounted, heard the shouts of the brave pursuers, 
 and was again the soldier. 
 
 But the iron front of the enemy resisted our 
 boldest attempts to force the ravines. The hills 
 were not to be turned ; and we were compelled, 
 after innumerable efforts, to wait for the move- 
 ment of the Romans from a spot w hich thirst and 
 hunger must soon make untenable. This day 
 stripped them of their baggage, beasts of burden, 
 and military engines. Night fell too speedily — to 
 us a reluctant relaxation, to them a temporary 
 shelter from inevitable ruin. 
 
 At dawn, the pursuit began again. We found 
 the passes open, and the enemy struggling to es- 
 cape out of those fatal defiles. The day was worn 
 away in perpetual attempts to break the ranks of 
 the legionaries. The Jew, light, agile, and with 
 nothing to carry but his spear, was a tremendous 
 antagonist to the Roman, perplexed among rocks 
 and torrents, famishing, and encumbered with an 
 oppressive weight of armour. The losses of this 
 day were dreadful. Our darts commanded their 
 march from the heights ; every stone did execu-
 
 SA LATH I EL. 149 
 
 tion among ranks whose helmets and shields were 
 now shattered by the perpetual discharge. Still 
 they toiled on unbroken. We saw their long line 
 struggling with patient discipline through the rug- 
 ged depth below ; and in the face of our attacks 
 they made way, till night covered them. 
 
 I spent that night on horseback. Fatigue was 
 never felt in the strong excitement of the time. 
 I saw multitudes sink at my horse's feet in sleep 
 as insensible as the rock on which they lay. Sleep 
 never touched my eyelids. I galloped from post 
 to post, brought up reinforcements to my wearied 
 ranks, and longed for morn. 
 
 It came at last. The enemy had reached the 
 head of the defiles, but a force was poured upon 
 them that nothing could resist. Their remaining 
 cavalry were driven from the sides of the precipice 
 into the depths ; the few light troops that scaled 
 the higher grounds were swept away. I looked 
 upon their whole army as in my hands, and was 
 riding forward with Constantius and my chief 
 officers to receive their surrender, when they 
 were saved by one of those instances of devoted- 
 ness that distinguished the Roman character. 
 
 Wearied of perpetual pursuit and evasion, I 
 was rejoiced to see, at last, symptoms of a deter- 
 mination to wait for us, and try the chance of
 
 150 SALATHIEL. 
 
 battle. An abrupt ridge of rock, surmounted 
 with a lofty cone, was the enemy's position, long 
 after famous in Jewish annals. A line of spears- 
 men were drawn up on the ridge ; and the broken 
 summit of the cone, a space of a few hundred 
 yards, was occupied by a cohort. Some of the 
 Italian dexterity was employed to give the idea 
 that Cestius had taken his stand upon this central 
 spot ; an eagle and a concourse of officers were 
 exhibited ; and upon this spot I directed the prin- 
 cipal attack to be made. 
 
 But the cool bravery of its defenders was not 
 to be shaken. After a long waste of time in 
 efforts to scale the rock ; indignant at seeing vic- 
 tory retarded by such an obstacle, I left the busi- 
 ness to the slingers and archers, and ordered a 
 perpetual discharge to be kept up on the cohort. 
 This was decisive. Every stone and arrow told 
 upon the little force crowded together on the 
 naked height. Shield and helmet sank one by 
 one under the mere weight of missiles. Their 
 circle rapidly diminished, and, refusing surrender, 
 they perished to a man. 
 
 When we took possession, the enemy were gone. 
 The resistance of the cohort had given them time 
 to escape ; and Cestius sheltered his degraded 
 laurels behind the ramparts of Bethhoron, by the 
 sacrifice of four hundred heroes.
 
 SALATHIEL. 151. 
 
 This battle, which commenced on the eighth 
 day of the month Marchesvan, had no equal in 
 the war. The loss to the Romans was unparal- 
 leled since the defeat of Crassus. Two legions 
 were destroyed ; six thousand bodies were left on 
 the field. The whole preparation for the siege of 
 Jerusalem fell into our hands. Then was the hour 
 to have struck the final blow for freedom. Then 
 was given that chance of restoration, that respite, 
 which Providence gives to every nation and every 
 man. But our crimes, our wild feuds, the bigoted 
 fury and polluted license of our factions, rose up 
 as a cloud between us and the light ; we were 
 made to be ruined. 
 
 But those were not my reflections when I saw 
 the gates of Bethhoron closing on the fugitives : 
 I vowed never to rest, until I brought prisoners to 
 Jerusalem, the last of the sacrilegious army that 
 had dared to assault the Temple. 
 
 The walls of Bethhoron, manned only with the 
 wreck of the troops that we had routed from all 
 their positions, could offer no impediment to hands 
 and hearts like ours. 1 ordered an immediate as- 
 sault. The resistance was desperate, for beyond 
 this city there was no place of refuge nearer than 
 Antipatris. We were twice repulsed. I headed 
 the third attack myself. The dead filled up the
 
 152 SALATHIEL. 
 
 ditch, and I bad already arrived at the foot of the 
 ramjjart, with the scaling ladder in my hand, when 
 I heard Jubal's voice behind me. He was leaping 
 and dancing in the attitudes of utter madness. But 
 there was no time to be lost. I rushed upon the 
 battlements, tore a standard from its bearer, and 
 waved it over my head with a shout of victory. 
 The plain, the hills, the valleys, covered with the 
 host rushing to the assault, echoed the cry ; I was 
 at the summit of fortune ! 
 
 In the next moment I felt a sudden shock. 
 Darkness covered my eyes, and I plunged head- 
 long. 
 
 I awoke in a dungeon.
 
 SALATHIEL. 153 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 In that dungeon I lay two years. How I lived, 
 how I bore to retain existence, I can now have no 
 conception. I was for the greater part of the time 
 in a kind of childishness. I was not mad, nor alto- 
 gether insensible of things about me, nor even 
 without the occasional inclination for the common 
 objects and propensities of our being. I used to 
 look for the glimmer of day-light, that was suffered 
 to enter my cell. The reflection of the moon in a 
 pool, of which, by climbing to the loop-hole, I 
 could gain a glimpse, was waited for with some 
 feeble feeling of pleasure. But my animal appe 
 tites were more fully alive than ever. An hour's 
 delay of the miserable provision that was thrown 
 through my bars, made me wretched. I devoured
 
 154 "SALATHIEL. 
 
 it like a wild beast, and then longed through the 
 dreary hours for its coming again. 
 
 I made no attempt to escape. I dragged my- 
 self once to the entrance of the dungeon, found it 
 secured by an iron door, and never tried it again. 
 If every bar had been open, I scarcely know 
 whether T should have attempted to pass it. Even 
 in my more reasoning hours, I felt no desire to 
 move ; Destiny was upon me. My doom was 
 marked in characters which nothing but blindness 
 could fail to read ; and to struggle with fate, what 
 was it but to prepare for new misfortune ! 
 
 The memory of my wife and children sometimes 
 broke through the icy apathy with which I la- 
 boured to incrust my mind. Tears flowed, nature 
 stung my heart; I groaned, and made the vault 
 ring with the cries of the exile from earth and hea- 
 ven. But this passed away, and I was again the 
 self-divorced man, without a tie to bind him to 
 transitory things. 
 
 I heard the thwnder and the winds ; the light- 
 nings sometimes startled me from my savage sleep. 
 But what were they to me ! I was dreadfully se- 
 cure from the fiercest rage of nature. There were 
 nights when I conceived that I could distinguish 
 the roarings of the ocean, and, shuddering, seemed 
 to hear the cries of drowning men. But those too
 
 SALATHIEL. 155 
 
 passed away. I swept remembrance from my mind, 
 and felt a sort of vague enjoyment in the efibrt 
 to defy the last power of evil. Cold, heat, hun- 
 ger, waking, sleep, were the calendar of my year, 
 the only points in which I was sensible of exist- 
 ence ; I felt myself like some of those torpid ani- 
 mals which, buried in stones from the creation, 
 live on until the creation shall be no more. 
 
 But this stern heaviness was only for the waking 
 hour. Night had its old implacable dominion 
 over me; full of vivid misery, crowded with the 
 bitter sweet of memory, I wandered free among 
 those in whose faces and forms my spirit found 
 matchless loveliness; then the cruel caprice of 
 fancy would sting me ; in the very concord of en- 
 chanting sounds, there would come a funereal voice. 
 In the circle of the happy, I was appalled by some 
 hideous visage uttering words of mystery. A spec- 
 tral form would hang upon my steps, and tell me 
 that I was undone. 
 
 From one of those miserable slumbers I was 
 roused by a voice pronouncing my name. I at 
 first confounded it with the wanderings of sleep.. 
 But a chilling touch upon my forehead com- 
 pletely aroused me. It was night, yet my eyes, 
 accustomed to the darkness, gradually discovered 
 the first intruder who ever stood within my living
 
 156 SALATHIEL. 
 
 grave ; notbing human could look more like the 
 dead. A breathing skeleton stood before me. The 
 skin clung to his bones ; misery was in every fea- 
 ture ; the voice was scarcely above a whisper. 
 
 " Rise," said this wretched being, " prince of 
 Naphtali, you are free ; follow me." 
 
 Strange thoughts were in the words. Was this 
 indeed the universal summoner? the being whom 
 the prosperous dread, but the wretched love? Had 
 the King of terrors stood before me, I could not 
 have gazed on him with more wonder. " Rise," said 
 the voice impatiently; " we have but an hour till 
 day-break, and you must escape now, or never." 
 The sound of freedom scattered my apathy. The 
 world opened upon my heart; country, friends, 
 children, were in the word ; and I started up with 
 the feeling of one to whom life is given on the 
 scaffold. 
 
 My guide hurried forward through the winding- 
 way to the door. He stop])ed : I heard him utter 
 a groan, strike fiercely against the bars, and fall. 
 I found him lying at the threshold without speech 
 or motion ; carried him back ; and, by the help of 
 the cruse of water left to moisten my solitary meal, 
 restored him to his senses. 
 
 " The wind," said he, " must have closed the 
 door, and we are destined to die together. So be it;
 
 SALATHIEL. 157 
 
 with neither of us can the struggle be long — Fare- 
 well !" He flung himself upon his face in a corner, 
 and seemed to sleep. A noise of some heavy in- 
 strument roused us both. He listened, and said, 
 " There is hope still. The slave who let me in, 
 is forcing the door." We rushed to assist him ; 
 and tugged and tore at the massive stones in which 
 the hinges were fixed ; but found our utmost 
 strength ineffectual as an infant's. The slave now 
 cried out that he must give up the attempt ; that 
 day was breaking, and the guard were at hand. 
 We implored him to try once more. By a violent 
 effort he drove his crow-bar through one of the 
 pannels ; the gleam of light gave us courage ; and 
 with our united strength we heaved at the joints, 
 which were evidently loosening. 
 
 In tlie midst of our work, the slave fled; and I 
 heard a plunge into the pool beneath. " He has 
 perished," said ray companion. " The door is on 
 the face of a precipice. He has fallen in the at- 
 tempt to escape, and we are now finally undone." 
 
 The guard, disturbed by the noise, arrived ; and 
 in the depths of our cell we heard the day spent in 
 making the impassable barrier firmer than ever. 
 
 For some hours my companion lay in that state 
 of exhaustion which I could not distinguish from 
 uneasy slumber, and which I attributed to the
 
 15S SALATHIEL. 
 
 fatigue of our mutual labours. But his groans 
 became so deep, that I ventured to rouse him, and 
 even to cheer him with the chances of escape. 
 
 " I have not slept," said he ; "I shall never 
 sleep again, until the grave gives me that slum- 
 ber in which the wretched can alone find rest. 
 Escape ! No — for months, for years, I have had 
 but one object. I have traversed mountain and 
 sea for it ; I have given to it day and night, all the 
 wealth that I possessed in the world ; I could give 
 no more, but my life ; and that too I was to give. 
 I stood within sight of this object. Its attain- 
 ment would have comforted my dying hour. But it 
 is snatched from me in the very malice of fortune ; 
 and now the sooner I perish, the better." He . 
 writhed with mental pain. 
 
 " But what cause can you have for being here? 
 You are no prisoner. You have not fought our 
 tyrants. Who are you?" 
 
 " One whom you can never know. A being 
 born to honour and happiness ; but who perverted 
 them by pride and revenge, and whose last mise- 
 rable hope is, that he may die unknown, and 
 without the curses that fall on the traitor and the 
 murderer." 
 
 1 knew the speaker, in those words of woe. I 
 cried out, " Jubal, my friend, my kinsman, my
 
 SALATHIEL. 159 
 
 hero ; is it you then who have risked your life to 
 save me?" I threw myself beside him. He crept 
 from me. I caught his meagre hand. I forced 
 food into his lips ; in the deepest grief at his ob- 
 vious suffering, I adjured him to live and hope. 
 
 He started away wildly. " Touch me not, 
 Prince of Naphtali, I am unfit to live. I — I have 
 been your ruin; and yet, he who knows the heart, 
 knows that I alone am not to blame. I was a 
 dupe, a slave to furious passions, the victim of 
 evil councillors, the prey of disease of mind. What 
 I did was done in malice, but it was done in mad- 
 ness too. On my crimes may Heaven have 
 mercy ! for they are beyond the forgiveness of 
 man." 
 
 By the feeble light, which showed scarcely 
 more than the wretchedness of my dungeon, I 
 made some little preparation for the refreshment of 
 this feverish and famished being. His story agi- 
 tated him ; and, strongly awakened as my curiosity 
 was, I forbore all question. But it lay a burden 
 on his mind, and I suffered him to make his con- 
 fession. 
 
 "I loved Salome," said he; "but I was so 
 secure of acceptance, according to the custom of 
 our tribe, that I never conceived the possibility of 
 an obstacle to our marriage. My love and my
 
 160 SA LATHI EL. 
 
 pride were equally hurt by her rejection. The 
 return of Salome from Rome, and the new dis- 
 tinctions of her husband, your gratitude, and the 
 popular applause, made my envy bitterness. To 
 chang-e the scene, I went to Jerusalem. I there 
 found the spirit of malice active. Your learning 
 and talents had made you obnoxious long before ; 
 your new opulence and rank turned dislike into 
 hatred. Onias, whose dagger you turned from the 
 bosom of the noble Eleazar, remembered his dis- 
 grace. He headed the conspiracy against you ; 
 and nothing but your heroism, and the daring 
 vigour with which you stirred up the nation, could 
 have saved you long since from the last extremities 
 of faction and revenge. My unhappy state of 
 mind threw me into his hands. I was inflamed 
 against you by perpetual calumnies. My feelings, 
 morbid with fancied wrongs, hurried me into vio- 
 lences of language and wild resolutions, that now 
 strike me with wonder. It was even proposed 
 that I should accuse you before the Sanhedrim of 
 dealing with the powers of darkness. Proofs were 
 offered, which my bewildered and broken reason 
 could scarcely resist. I was assailed with subtle 
 argument ; the latent superstitions of my nature 
 were stimulated by sights and scenes of strange 
 import, horrid and mysterious displays, which im-
 
 SALATHIEL. 161 
 
 plicate the leaders of Jerusalem deeply in the 
 charges laid by our law upon the idolaters. Spirits, 
 or the semblances of spirits, were raised before ray 
 eyes ; voices were heard in the depths and in the 
 air, denouncing you, even you, as the enemy of 
 Judea and of man. 1 was commanded, in the 
 midst of thunders, real or feigned, to destroy you." 
 
 Here his voice sank, his frame quivered ; and 
 wrapping his head in his cloak, he remained long 
 silent. To relieve him from this painful narrative, 
 I asked for intelligence of my family and of the 
 country, 
 
 " Of your family I can tell you nothing," said 
 he, mournfully ; " I shrank from the very mention 
 of their name. During these two years, I had but 
 one pursuit, the discovery of your prison. Ire- 
 fused to hear, to think of other things. I felt that 
 I was dying, and I dreaded to appear before the 
 great tribunal with the groans from your dungeon 
 rising up to stifle my prayers." 
 
 " But is our country still torn by the Roman 
 wolves V 
 
 " Its destruction forced itself on my eyes. The 
 whole land is in tumult. Blood and horror are 
 under every roof from Lebanon to Idumea. The 
 Roman sword is out, and it falls with cruel havoc ; 
 but the Jewish dagger pays it home, and the le-
 
 162 SALATHIEL. 
 
 gions quail before the naked valour of the peasan- 
 try. But what are valour or patriotism to us now ? 
 We are in our grave !" 
 
 The thought of ray family exposed to the 
 miseries of a ferocious war, only kindled my eager- 
 ness to escape from this den of oblivion. I rose : it 
 was evening ; and the melancholy moon threw the 
 old feeble gleam on the water, which had so long 
 been to me the only mirror of her countenance. I 
 observed the light darkened by a figure stealing 
 along the edge of the pool. It approached, and 
 the words were whispered : " It is impossible to 
 break open the door from without, as the guard 
 are on the watch ; but try whether it cannot be 
 opened from within." A crow-bar was pushed into 
 the loop-hole; its bearer, the slave, who had 
 escaped by swimming, jumped down and was 
 gone. 
 
 I left Jubal where he lay, lingered at the door 
 till all external sounds ceased, and then made my 
 desperate atte)npt. I was wasted by confinement; 
 but the mind is force. I laboured with furious 
 effort at the mass of bolt and bar, and at length 
 felt it begin to give way. I saw a star, the first 
 for two long years, twinkling through the fracture. 
 A (juarter of an hour's labour more unfixed the 
 huge hinge, and I felt the night air cool and fra-
 
 SALA.THIEL. 1(J3 
 
 grant on my cheek. I now grasped the last bar, 
 and was in the act of forcing it from the wall, 
 when the thought of Jubal struck me. ^ There was 
 a struggle of a moment in my mind. To linger 
 now might be to give the guard time to intercept 
 me. I was ravening for liberty. It was to me 
 now, what water in the desert is to the dying cara- 
 van. It was the sole assuaging of a frantic thirst, 
 of a fiery and consuming fever of the soul. If 
 every grain of dust under my feet were diamonds, 
 I would have given them to feel myself treading 
 the dewy grass that lay waving on the hill-side 
 before me. 
 
 A tall shadow passed along, and compelled me 
 to pause. It was that of a mountain shepherd, 
 spear in hand, guarding his flock from the depre- 
 dations of the wolves. He stopped at a short 
 distance from the dungeon, and, gazing on the 
 moon, broke out with a rude, but not unsweet 
 voice into song. The melody was wild, a lamen- 
 tation over the fallen glories of Judea ; " whose 
 sun was set, and whose remaining light, sad and 
 holy as the beauty of the moon, must soon decay." 
 The word freedom mingled in the strain, and every 
 note of that solemn strain vibrated to my heart. 
 The shepherd passed along. 
 
 I tore down the bar, and gazed upon the glorious
 
 164 SALATHIRL. 
 
 face of heaven. My feet were upon the free 
 ground. I returned hastily lO the cell, and told 
 Jubal the glad tidings; but he heard me not. To 
 abandon him there was to give him up to inevitable 
 death, either by the rage of the guard, or by the 
 less merciful infliction of famine. I carried him 
 on my shoulders to the entrance. 
 
 A roar of wrath, mixed with ridicule, broke on 
 me, as I touched the threshold. The guard stood 
 drawn up in front of the dilapidated door ; and the 
 sight of the prisoner entrapped in the very crisis 
 of escape, was the true food for ruffian mirth. 
 Staggering under my burden, I yet burst forward; 
 but I was received in a circle of levelled spears. 
 Resistance was desperate ; yet, even when sunk 
 upon the ground under my burden, I attempted 
 ' to resist, or gather their points in my bosom and 
 perish. But my feeble efforts only raised new 
 scoffing. I was unworthy of Roman steel ; and 
 the guard, after amusing themselves with my im- 
 potent rage, dragged me within the passage, placed 
 Jubal, who neither spoke nor moved, beside me, 
 blocked up the door, and wished me " better 
 success the next time." 
 
 I spent the remainder of that night in fierce 
 agitation. The apathy, the protecting scorn of 
 external things that I had nurtured, as other men
 
 SALATHIEL. 165 
 
 would nurture happiness, was gone. The glimpse 
 of the sky haunted me ; a hundred times in the 
 course of the night I thought that I was treading 
 on the grass; that 1 felt its refreshing moisture; 
 that the air was breathing balm on my cheek; 
 that the shepherd's song was still echoing in my 
 ears, and that I saw him pointing to a new way 
 of escape from my inextricable dungeon. In one 
 of my ramblings I fell over Jubal. Exasperated 
 at the stern reality round me, I flung the crow-bar 
 from my hand. A sound followed, like the fall of 
 large stones into water. The sound continued. 
 Still stranger echoes followed, which my bewildered 
 fancy turned into all similitudes of earth and 
 ocean ; the march of troops, the distant roar of 
 thunder, the dashing of billows, the clamour of 
 battle, the boisterous mirth of Bacchanalians ; the 
 groaning and heaving of masts and rigging tossed 
 by storm. 
 
 The dungeon v>as dark as death, and I felt my 
 way towards the sound. To my surprise, the 
 accidental blow of the bar had loosened a part of 
 the wall ; and made an orifice large enough to 
 admit the human body. The pale light of morning 
 showed a cavern beyond, narrow and rugged; but 
 into which I was resolved to penetrate. It branched 
 into a A ariety of passages, some of them fit for
 
 166 SALATHIEL. 
 
 nothing but the fox's burrow. Two were wider. 
 I returned to the lair of my unhappy companion, 
 and prevailed on him to follow, only by the decla- 
 ration, that if he refused, I must perish by his 
 side. My scanty provisions were gathered up. I 
 led the way; and, determined never to return to 
 the place of my misery, we set forward, to tempt 
 in utter darkness the last chances of famine — pil- 
 grims of the tomb. 
 
 We wandered through a fearful labyrinth for a 
 period which utterly exhausted us. Of night or 
 day we had no knowledge ; but hunger keenly told 
 us that it was long. I was sinking ; when a low 
 groan struck my ear. I listened pantingly : it 
 came again. It was evidently from some object 
 close beside me. I put forth my hand, and pulled 
 away a projecting stone : a flash of light illumined 
 the passage. Another step would have plunged 
 us into a pool a thousand feet below.
 
 SALATHIEL. 167 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The cavern thus opened to us was large, and 
 seemed to be the magazine of some place of trade. 
 It was crowded with chests and bales heaped to- 
 gether in disorder. But life and liberty were be- 
 fore us. I cheered Jubal, till his scattered senses 
 returned, and he clasped my feet in humiliation 
 and gratitude. 
 
 We were like men created anew. Sudden 
 strength nerved our limbs : we forced our way 
 through piles that but an hour before would have 
 been mountains to our despairing strength. After 
 long labour we worked our passage to a door. It 
 opened into another cavern, palpably the dwelling 
 of some master of extraordinary opulence. Rich 
 tissues were hung on the walls ; the ceiling was a
 
 108 SALATHIEL. 
 
 Tyrian canopy ; precious vases stood on tables of 
 citron and ivory. A large lyre superbly orna- 
 mented hung' in an opening- of the rock, and gave 
 its melancholy music to the wind. But no human 
 being was to be seen. Was this one of the true 
 wonders that men classed among the fictions of 
 Greece and Asia? The Nereids with their queen 
 could not have sought a more secluded palace. 
 Still onward were heard the sounds of ocean. We 
 followed them, and saw one of those scenes of 
 grandeur which nature creates, as if to show the 
 littleness of man. 
 
 An arch three times the height of the loftiest 
 temple, and ribbed with marble, rose broadly over 
 our heads. Innumerable shafts of the purest 
 alabaster, rounded with the perfection of sculpture, 
 rose in groups and clusters to the solemn roof: 
 wild flowers and climbing plants of every scent 
 and hue gathered round the capitals, and hung the 
 gigantic sides of the hall with a lovelier decora- 
 tion than ever was wrought in loom. The awful 
 beauty of this ocean-temple bowed the heart in 
 instinctive homage. I felt the sacredness of 
 nature. 
 
 But this grandeur was alone worthy of the 
 spectacle to which it opened. The whole mag- 
 nificence of the Mediterranean spread before our
 
 SALATHIEL. 169 
 
 eyes, smooth as polished silver, and now reflecting 
 the glories of the west. The sun lay on the 
 horizon in the midst of crimson clouds, like a 
 monarch on the funeral pile, sinking in conflagra- 
 tion that lighted earth and ocean. 
 
 But at this noble portal we had reached our 
 limit. The sides of the cavern projected so far 
 into the waters as to make a small anchorage. 
 Access or escape by land was palpably impossible. 
 Yet here at least we were masters. No claimant 
 presented himself to dispute our title. The pro- 
 visions of our unknown host were ample, and, to 
 our eager tastes, dangerous from their luxury. 
 The evening that we passed over our repast at the 
 entrance of the cave, exhilarated with the first 
 sensation of liberty, and enjoying every aspect and 
 voice of the lovely scene vvith the keenness of the 
 most unhoped-for novelty, was a full recompense 
 for the toils and terrors of the labyrinth. 
 
 All before us was peace. — The surge that died 
 at our feet murmured peace ; the wheeling sea- 
 birds, as their long trains steered homeward, 
 pouring out from time to time a clangor of wild 
 sounds that descended to us in harmony ; the little 
 white-sailed vessels, that skimmed along the dis- 
 tant waters like flies ; the breeze waving the ivy 
 VOL. II. H
 
 170 SALATIIIEL. 
 
 and arbutus that festooned our banquet-hall ; alike 
 spoke to the heart the language of peace. 
 
 '• If," said I, " my death-bed were left to my 
 own choice, on the verge of this cavern would I 
 wish to take my last farewell." 
 
 " To the dying all places must be indifferent," 
 replied my companion : " when Death is at hand, 
 his shadow fills the mind. What matters it to the 
 exile, who in a few moments must leave his 
 country for ever, on what spot of its shore his last 
 step is planted l Perhaps the lovelier that spot, 
 the more painful the parting. If I must have my 
 choice, let me die in the dungeon, or in battle ; in 
 the chain ihai makes me hate the earth, or in the 
 struggle that makes it be forgotten." 
 
 " Yet, even for battle, if we Mould acquit our- 
 selves as becomes men, is not some previous rest 
 almost essential ? and for the sterner conflict Avith 
 that mighty enemy, before whom our strength is 
 vapour, is it not well to prepare with the whole 
 means of mental fortitude? I would not perish in 
 the irritation of the dungeon ; in the blind fury of 
 man against man ; nor in the hot and giddy whirl 
 of human cares. Let me lay my sinking frame 
 where nothing shall intrude upon the nobler busi- 
 ness of the mind. But these are melancholy
 
 SALATHIEL. 171 
 
 tboughts. Come, Jubal, jBll to the speedy deli- 
 verance of our country." 
 
 " Here, then, to her speedy deliverance, and 
 the glory of those who fight her battles ! " The cup 
 was filled to the brim ; but just as the wine touched 
 his lips, he flung it away. " No," exclaimed he, 
 in bitterness of soul, " it is not for such as I to 
 join in the aspirations of the patriot and the 
 soldier. Prince of Naphtali, your generous na- 
 ture has forgiven me ; but there is an accuser 
 here," and he struck his withered hand wildly 
 upon his bosom, *' that can never be silenced. 
 Under the delusions, the infernal delusions of your 
 enemies, 1 followed you through a long period of 
 your career unseen. Every act, almost every 
 thought, was made known to me ; for you were 
 surrounded by the agents of your enemies. I was 
 urged by the belief that you were utterly accursed 
 by our law, and that to drive the dagger to your 
 heart was to redeem our cause. But the act was 
 against my nature ; and in the struggle my reason 
 failed. When I stood before you on the morning 
 of the great battle, you saw me in one of those 
 fits of frenzy that always followed a new command 
 to murder. The misery of seeing Salome's hus- 
 band once more triumphant finally plunged me
 
 172 SALATHIEL. 
 
 into the Roman ranks to seek for death. I es- 
 caped, followed the army, and reached Bethhoron 
 in the midst of the assault. Still frantic, I thought 
 that in you I saw my rival victorious, and sprang 
 upon the wall. It was this hand, this parricidal 
 hand, that struck the blow — ." He covered his 
 face, and sighed convulsively. 
 
 The mystery of my captivity was now cleared 
 up, and feeling only pity and forgiveness for the 
 ruin that remorse had made, I succeeded at last 
 in restoring him to some degree of calmness. I 
 even ventured to cheer him with the hope of better 
 days, when in the palace of my fathers I should 
 acknowledge my deliverer. With a pressure of 
 the hand, and a melancholy smile, " I know," 
 said he, " that I have not long to live. But if 
 any prayer of mine is to be answered by the Power 
 that I have so deeply offended, it would be to die 
 in some act of service to my prince and generous 
 benefactor. But hark!" 
 
 A groan was uttered close to the spot where we 
 sat. I perceived for the first time an opening 
 behind some furniture; entered, and saw lying on 
 a bed a man apparently in the last stage of ex- 
 haustion. He exclaimed, " Three days of misery, 
 — three davs left alone, to die; — without food, 
 
 I
 
 SALATHIEL. 173 
 
 without help, abandoned by all. But I have de- 
 served it. Traitor and villain as I am, I have 
 deserved a thousand deaths ! " 
 
 I looked upon this as but the raving of pain, 
 and brought him some wine. He swallowed it 
 with fierce avidity; but, even while I held the 
 cup to his lips, he sank back with a cry of horror. 
 " Aye," cried he, " I knew that I could not es- 
 cape you ; you are come at last. Spirit, leave me 
 to die. Or if," said he, half rising, and looking 
 in my face with a steady yet dim glare, " you can 
 tell the secrets of the grave, tell me what is my 
 fate. I adjure you, fearful being, by the God of 
 Israel ; by the gods of the Pagan ; or if you ac- 
 knowledge any god beyond the last hour of mise- 
 rable man, tell me what I am to be." 
 
 I continued silent, and struck with the agony of 
 his features. Jubal entered, and the looks of the 
 dying man were turned on him. 
 
 " More of them!" he exclaimed, " more tor- 
 mentors! more terrible witnesses of the tortures 
 of a wretch whom earth casts out ! What, I de- 
 mand of you, is the fate of those who live as 
 I have lived ?— the betrayer, the plunderer, the man 
 of blood I But you will give me no answer. The 
 time for your power is not come." He lay for a
 
 174 SALATHIEL. 
 
 short period in mental sufferings ; then, starting" 
 up on his feet by an extraordinary effort of nature, 
 and with furious execrations at the tardiness of 
 death, he tore off the bandage which covered a 
 wound on his forehead. The blood streamed down, 
 and made him a ghastly spectacle. " Aye," cried 
 he, as he looked upon his stained hands, " this is 
 the true colour ; the traitor's blood should cover 
 the traitor's hands. Years of crime, this is your 
 reward. The betrayal of my noble master to 
 death, the ruin of his house, the destruction of his 
 name ; these were the right beginning to the life 
 of the robber." 
 
 A peal of thunder rolled over our heads, and 
 the gush of the rising waves roared through the 
 cavern. 
 
 '• Aye, there is your army," he cried, *' coming 
 in the storm. I have seen your angry visages at 
 night in the burning village ; I have seen you in 
 the shipwreck ; I have seen you in the howling 
 wilderness ; but now I see you in shapes more 
 terrible than all." 
 
 The wind bursting through the long vaults, 
 forced open the door. " Welcome, welcome to 
 your prey," he yelled, and drawing a knife from 
 his sash, darted it into his bosom. The act was so
 
 SALATHIEL. 175 
 
 instantaneous, that to arrest the blow was impos- 
 sible. He fell, and died with a brief, fierce 
 strug'gle. 
 
 " Horrible end," murmured Jubal, gazing on 
 the stiffened form ; — " here is theory answered at 
 once ; happier for that wretch to have perished in 
 the hottest strife of man or nature, trampled in 
 the charge, or plunged into the billows ! But, 
 save me from the misery of lonely death !" 
 
 " Yet it was our presence that made him feel. 
 He was guilty of some crime, perhaps of many, 
 that the sight of us strangely awoke to torment 
 his dying hour. He gazed upon me with evident 
 alarm, and, not improbably, my withered face, and 
 those rags of my dungeon, startled him into re- 
 collections too strong for his decayed reason." 
 
 " Have you ever seen him before J" 
 
 " Never." I gave a reluctant look to the hide- 
 ous distortion of a countenance still full of the 
 final agony. 
 
 " Now, to think of ourselves. We shall have 
 soon our own experiment fairly tried. A few 
 days must exhaust our provisions. The surges 
 roll on the one hand, on the other we have the 
 rock. But we shall die at least in pomp. No 
 king of Asia will lie in a nobler vault, nor even 
 have sincerer rejoicings at his end ; the crows
 
 176 SALATHIEL. 
 
 and vultures are no hypocrites," said Jubal, with 
 a melancholy smile. 
 
 The dead man's turban had fallen off in his last 
 violence, and I perceived the corner of a letter in 
 its folds. Its intelligence startled me. It was 
 from the commandant of the Roman fleet on the 
 coast, mentioning that a squadron was in readiness 
 to " attack the pirates in their cavern." 
 
 A heavy sound, as if something of immense 
 weight had rushed into the entrance of the arch, 
 and then the echo of many voices, stopped our 
 conversation. 
 
 " The Romans have come," said I, " and you 
 will be now indulged with your wish : our lives 
 are forfeited ; for never will I go back to the 
 dungeon." 
 
 " I hear no sound but that of laughter," said 
 Jubal, listening ; " those invaders are the merriest 
 of cut-throats. But, before we give ourselves 
 actually into their hands, let us see of what they 
 are made." 
 
 We left the chamber, and returned to the recess 
 from which we had originally emerged. Its posi- 
 tion commanded a view of the chief avenues and 
 chambers of the cavern ; and while I was busy 
 below in securing the door, Jubal mounted the 
 wall, and reconnoitred the enemy through a
 
 SALATHIEL. 177 
 
 fissure. " Those are no Romans," whispered he, 
 " but a set of the most jovial fellov/s that ever 
 robbed on the seas. They have clearly been 
 driven in by the storm, and are now preparing to 
 feast. Their voyage has been lucky, if I am to 
 judge by the bales that they are hauling in ; and if 
 wine can do it, they will be in an hour or two 
 drunk to the last man." 
 
 " Then we can take advantage of their sleep, let 
 loose one of their boats, and away." 
 
 I mounted, to see this pirate festivity In the 
 various vistas of the huge cavern, groups of bold- 
 faced and athletic men were gathered, all busy 
 with the bustle of the time : some piling fires 
 against the walls, and preparing provisions : some 
 stripping o(F their wet garments, and bringing 
 others out of heaps of every kind and colour, from 
 recesses in the rock : some furbishing their arms, 
 and wiping the spray from rusty helmets and 
 corselets. The hollow vaults rang with songs, 
 boisterous laughter, the rattling of armour, and 
 the creaking and rolling of chests of plunder. 
 The dashing of the sea under the gale filled up 
 this animated dissonance; and at intervals the 
 thunder bursting directly above our heads, over- 
 powered all, and silenced all.
 
 178 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The chamber, whose costly equipment first told 
 us of the opulence of its masters, was set apart 
 for the chief rovers, who were soon seated at a 
 large table in its centre, covered with luxury. 
 Flagons of wine were brought from cellars known 
 only to the initiated ; fruits piled in silver baskets 
 blushed along the board ; plate of the richest 
 workmanship, the plunder of palaces and temples, 
 glittered in every form ; tripods loaded with aro- 
 matic wood threw a blaze up to the marble roof; 
 and from the central arch hung a superb Greek 
 lamp, shooting out light from a hundred mouths 
 of serpents twined in all possible ways. The party 
 before me were about thirty; as fierce looking 
 figures as ever toiled through tempest : some
 
 SA LATH I EL, ' 179 
 
 splendidly attired, some in the rough costume of 
 the deck ; but all jovial, and determined to make 
 the most of their time. Other men had paid for the 
 banquet ; and there was probably not a vase on their 
 table that was not the purchase of personal hazard. 
 They sat, conquerors, in the midst of their own 
 trophies; and not the most self-indulgent son of 
 opulence could have more luxuriated in his wealth, 
 nor the most exquisite student of epicurism have 
 discussed his luxuries with more finished and fas- 
 tidious science. Lounging on couches covered with 
 embroidered draperies, too costly for all but princes, 
 they lectured the cooks without mercy : the ve- 
 nison, pheasants, sturgeon, and a multitude of other 
 dishes, were in succession pronounced utterly un- 
 fit to be touched ; and the wine was tasted, and 
 dismissed with the scorn of palates refined to the 
 highest point of delicacy. Yet the sea air was 
 not to be trifled with ; and a succession of courses 
 appeai-ed, and were despatched with a diligence 
 that prohibited all language, beyond the pithy 
 phrases of delight or disappointment. 
 
 The wine at length set the conversation flowing ; 
 and, from the merits of the various vintages, the 
 speakers diverged into the general subjects of 
 politics and their profession ; on the former of 
 which they visited all parties with tolerably equal
 
 180 SALATHIEL. 
 
 ridicule ; and, on the latter, declared unanimously 
 that the only cause worthy of a man of sense was 
 the cause for which they were assembled round that 
 table. The next stage was the more hazardous 
 one of personal jocularity ; yet even this was got 
 over, with but a few murmurs from the parties 
 suffering. Songs and toasts to themselves, their 
 loves, matron and maid, within the shores of the 
 Mediterranean ; and their enterprises in all time 
 to come, relieved the drier topics ; and all was 
 good fellowship, until one unlucky goblet of spoiled 
 wine soured the table. 
 
 •' So, this you call Chian," exclaimed a broad- 
 built figure, whose yellow hair and blue eyes 
 showed him a son of the north ; * ' may 1 be poisoned," 
 and he made a hideous grimace, " if more detest- 
 able vinegar ever was brewed ; let me but meet 
 the merchant, and I shall teach him a lesson that 
 he will remember, when next he thinks of mur- 
 dering men at their meals. Here, baboon, take it; 
 it is fit only for such as you." He flung the gob- 
 let point-blank at the head of a negro, who es- 
 caped it only by bounding to one side with the 
 agility of the ape, that he much resembled. 
 
 " Bad news, Vladomir, for our winter's stock, 
 for half of it is Chian," said a dark-featured and 
 brilliant-eyed Arab, who sat at the head of the table.
 
 SALATHIEL. 181 
 
 « Ho ! Syphax, fill round from that flagon, and let 
 us hold a council of war upon the delinquent 
 wine." 
 
 The slave dexterously changed the wine ; it was 
 poured round, pronounced first-rate, and the Ger- 
 man was laughed at remorselessly. 
 
 " I suppose I am not to believe my own senses," 
 remonstrated Vladomir. 
 
 " Oh ! by all means, as long as you keep them," 
 said one, laughing. 
 
 " Will you tell me that I don't know the dif- 
 ference between wine and that poison." 
 
 " Neither you nor any man, friend Vladomir, 
 can know much upon the subject after his second 
 dozen of goblets ;" sneered another at the German's 
 national propensity. 
 
 " You do him injustice," said a subtle-visaged 
 Chiote at the opposite side of the table. " He is 
 as much in his senses this moment as ever he was. 
 There are brains of that happy constitution, which 
 defies alike reason and wine." 
 
 " Well, I shall say no more," murmured the 
 German sullenly, " than, confound the spot on 
 which that wine grew, wherever it lies ; the hung- 
 riest vineyard on the Rhine would be ashamed to 
 show its equal. By Woden, the very taste will go 
 with me to my grave."
 
 182 SALATHIELv 
 
 " Perhaps it may," said the Chiote, irritated foi' 
 the honour of his country, and significantly touch- 
 ing- his dagger. " But were you ever in the 
 island ?" 
 
 " No ; nor ever shall, with my own consent, if 
 that flagon be from it," growled the German, with 
 his broad eye glaring on his adversary. " I have 
 seen enough of its produce, alive and dead to- 
 night." 
 
 The wind roared without, and a tremendous 
 thunder-peal checked the angry dialogue. There 
 was a general pause. 
 
 "Come, comrades, no quarreling," cried the 
 Arab. " Heavens, how the storm comes on ! No- 
 thing can ride out to-night. Here's the captain's 
 health, and safe home to him." The cups were 
 filled ; but the disputants were not to be so easily 
 reconciled. 
 
 " Ho! Memnon," cried the master of the table 
 to a sallow Egyptian richly clothed, and whose 
 scymitar and dagger sparkled with jewels. He 
 was engaged in close council with the rover at his 
 side. " Lay by business now ; you don't like the 
 wine, or the toast ?" 
 
 The Egyptian'startled from his conference, pro- 
 fessed his perfect admiration of both, and sipping, 
 returned to his whisper.
 
 SALATHIEL. 183 
 
 " Memuon won't drink, for fear of letting- out 
 his secrets ; for instance, where he found that 
 scymitar, or what has become of the owner," said 
 a yaung and handsome Idumean, with a smile. 
 
 " I should like to know by what authority you 
 ask me questions on the subject. If it had been 
 in your hands, I should have never thought any 
 necessary," retorted the scowling Egyptian. 
 
 " Aye, of course not, Memnon : my way is well 
 known. — Fight rather than steal ; plunder rather 
 than cheat ; and, after the affair is over, account 
 to captain and crew, rather than glitter in their 
 property," was the Idumean's answer, with a glow 
 of indignation reddening his striking features. 
 
 " By the bye," said the Arab, in whose eye the 
 gems flashed temptingly, " I think that Memnon 
 is always under a lucky star. We come home in 
 rags, but he regularly returns the better for his 
 trip : why, Ptolemy himself has not a more ex- 
 quisite tailor. All depends, however, upon a man's 
 knowledge of navigation in this world." 
 
 " And friend Memnon knows every point of it, 
 but plain sailing," said the contemptuous Idumean. 
 
 The Egyptian's sallow skin grew livid. " I may 
 be coward, or liar, or pilferer, or what you will," 
 exclaimed he ; " but if I were the whole three, I
 
 184 SALATHIEL. 
 
 could stand no chance of being distinguished in 
 the present company." 
 
 " Insult to the whole profession," exclaimed the 
 Arab. " And now I insist, in the general name, 
 on your giving a plain account of the proceeds of 
 your last cruise. You can be at no loss for it." 
 
 " No ; for he has it by his side, and in the most 
 brilliant arithmetic," said Hanno, a satirical- vi- 
 saged son of Carthage. 
 
 " I must hear no more on the subject," bitterly 
 pronounced the Egyptian. " Those diamonds 
 belong to neither captain nor crew. 1 purchased 
 them l\iirlv ; and the seller was, I will undertiike 
 to say, the better off of the two." 
 
 "Yes; I will undertake to say," laughed the 
 Idumean, " that you left him the happiest dog in 
 existence. It is care that makes us all miserable ; 
 and the less we have to care for, the luckier we 
 are. I have not a doubt you left the fellow at the 
 summit of earthly rapture !" 
 
 " Aye!" added the Arab, " without a sorrow 
 or a shekel in the world." 
 
 Boisterous mirth followed the Egyptian, as he 
 started from his couch, and left the hall ; casting 
 fierce looks in his retreat, like Parthian arrows, on 
 the carousal.
 
 SA LATHI EL. 185 
 
 The German had, in the mean time, fallen back 
 in a doze ; from which he was disturbed by the 
 slave's refilling his goblet. 
 
 " Aye, that tastes like wine," said he, glancing- 
 at the Greek, who had by no means forgotten the 
 controversy. 
 
 " Taste what it may, it is the very same wine 
 that you railed at half an hour ago," returned the 
 Chiote : "the truth is, my good Vladomir, that 
 the wine of Greece is like its language; both are 
 exquisite and unrivalled to those who understand 
 them. But Nature wisely adapts tastes to men, 
 and men to tastes. I am not at all surprised that 
 north of the Danube they prefer beer." 
 
 The German had nothing to give back for the 
 taunt, but the frown that gathered on his black 
 brow. 
 
 The Chiote pursued his triumph ; and with 
 a languid, lover-like gaze on the wine, which 
 sparkled in purple radiance to the brim of its 
 enamelled cup, he apostrophised the produce of 
 his fine country. "Delicious grape! — essence of 
 the sun-shine and of the dew ! — what vales but the 
 vales of Chios could have produced thee I What 
 tint of heaven is brighter than thy hue? what 
 fragrance of earth richer than thy perfume V
 
 186 SALATHIEL, 
 
 He lightly sipped a few drops from the edge, 
 like a libation to the deity of taste. 
 
 "Exquisite draught!" breathed he; "une- 
 qualled but by the rosy lip and melting sigh of 
 beauty ! Well spoke the proverb — * Chios, whose 
 wines steal every head ; and whose women, every 
 heart; " 
 
 "You forget the rest," gladly interrupted the 
 German: — " And whose men steal everything." 
 A general laugh followed the retort, such as it was. 
 
 " Scythian !" said the Greek, across the table, 
 in a voice made low by rage, and preparing to 
 strike. 
 
 "Liar!" roared the German, sweeping a blow 
 of his falchion, which the Chiote escaped only by 
 flinging himself on the ground. The blow fell on 
 the table, where it caused wide devastation. All 
 now started up ; swords were out on every side ; 
 and nothing but forcing the antagonists to their 
 cells, prevented the last perils of a difference of 
 palate. 
 
 The storm bellowed deeper and deeper. 
 
 "Here's to the luck that sent us back before 
 this Northwester thought of stirring abroad," said 
 the Arab. " I wish our noble captain were among 
 us now. Where was he last seen ?"
 
 SALATHIEL. 187 
 
 " Steering westward, off and on Rhodes, look- 
 ing out for the galley that carried the Procurator's 
 plate. But this wind must send him in before 
 morning," was the answer of Hanno. 
 
 " Or send him to the bottom, where many as 
 bold a fellow has gone before him," whispered a 
 tall haggard-looking Italian to the answerer. 
 
 " That would be good news, for one of us at 
 least," said Hanno. " You would have no reck- 
 oning to settle. Your crew made a handsome 
 affair of that Alexandrian prize. And the cap- 
 tain might be looking for returns, friend Ter- 
 tullus." 
 
 " Then let him look to himself. His time may 
 be nearer than he thinks. His haughtiness, and 
 trampling upon men as good as himself, may pro- 
 voke justice before long," growled the Italian, 
 indignant at some late discipline. 
 
 " Justice ! — is the man mad? The very sound 
 is high treason in our gallant company. Why, 
 comrade, if justice ever ventured here, where 
 would some of us have been these last six 
 months ?" > 
 
 The sound caught the general ear ; the allu- 
 sion was understood, and the Italian was dis- 
 pleased. 
 
 " I hate to be remarkable," said he : " with the
 
 188 SALATHIEL. 
 
 honest, it may be proper to be honest ; but beside 
 you, my facetious Hanno, a man should cultivate 
 a little of the opposite school, in mere compliment 
 to his friend. You had no scruples, when you 
 hanged the merchant the other day." 
 
 A murmur arose in the hall. 
 
 " Comrades," said Hanno, with the air of an 
 orator ; " hear me too on that subject : three 
 words will settle the question to men of sense. 
 Tbe merchant was a regular trader. Will any 
 man who knows the world, and has brains an atom 
 clearer than those with which Heaven in its mercy 
 has gifted my virtuous friend, believe that I, a 
 regular liver by the merchant, would extinguish 
 that by which I live ? Sensible physicians never 
 kill a patient while he can pay ; sensible kings 
 never exterminate a province when it can pro- 
 duce any thing in the shape of a tax ; sensible 
 women never pray for the extinction of the male 
 sex until they despair of getting husbands ; sen- 
 sible husbands never wish their wives out of the 
 world while they can get any thing by their 
 living: so, sensible men of our profession will 
 never put a merchant under Vvater, until they 
 can make nothing by his remaining above 
 it. I have, for instance, raised contributions 
 on that same trader every summer these five
 
 SALATHIEL. 189 
 
 years ; and, by the blessing of fortune, hope 
 to have the same thing to say for five times as 
 many years to come. No ; I would not see 
 any man touch a hair of his head. In six months 
 he will have a cargo again, and I shall meet him 
 with as much pleasure as ever." The Cartha- 
 ginian was highly applauded. 
 
 " Malek, you dont drink ;" cried the Arab to a 
 gigantic Ethiopian towards the end of the table. 
 " Here, I pledge you in the very wine that was 
 marked for the emperor's cellar." 
 
 Malek tasted it, and sent back a cup in return. 
 " The Emperor's wine may be good enough for 
 him," was the message; "but this cup contains 
 the wine marked for the Emperor's butler." 
 
 The verdict was fully in favour of the Ethio- 
 pian. 
 
 " In all matters of this kind," said Malek, with 
 an air of supreme taste, " I look first to the stores 
 of the regular professors — the science of life is in 
 the masters of the kitchen and the cellar. Your 
 Emperors and Procurators, of course, must be 
 content with what they can get. But the man 
 who wishes to have the first-rate dinner, should 
 be on good terms with the cook and the butler. 
 I caught this sample on my last voyage after the
 
 190 SALATHIEL. 
 
 imperial fleet. Nero never bad suck wine on his 
 table." 
 
 He indulged bimself in a long draught of this 
 exclusive luxury ; and sank on his couch, with his 
 hand clasping the superbly-embossed flagon, a part 
 of his prize. 
 
 " The black churl," said a little shrivelled Sy- 
 rian, " never shares: he keeps his wine as he 
 keeps his money." 
 
 •' Aye, he keeps every thing but his character," 
 whispered Hanno. 
 
 " There you wrong him," observed the Syrian ; 
 " no man keeps his character more steadily. By 
 Beelzebub ! it is like his skin ; neither will be 
 blacker the longest day he has to live." 
 
 A roar of laughter rose round the hall. 
 
 " Black or not black," exclaimed the Ethio- 
 pian, with a sullen grin, that showed his teeth like 
 the fangs of a wild beast, " my blood's as red as 
 yours." 
 
 " Possibly," retorted the little Syrian; *' but, 
 as I must take your word on the subject till I shall 
 have seen a drop of it spilt in fair fight, 1 only 
 hope I may live and be happy till then ; and I 
 cannot put up a better prayer for a merry old age." 
 
 " There is no chance of your ever seeing it,"
 
 .SALATHIEL. 191 
 
 grovTled the Ethiopian ; " you love the baggage 
 and the hold too well to leave them to accident, 
 be the fight fair or foul." 
 
 The laugh was easily raised, and it was turned 
 against the Syrian, who started up, and declaimed 
 with a fury of gesture that made the ridicule still 
 louder. 
 
 " I appeal to all," cried the fiery orator. " I 
 appeal to every man of honour among us, whether 
 by night or day, on land or water, I have ever 
 been backward ?" 
 
 •' Never at an escape," interrupted the Ethio- 
 pian. 
 
 " Whether I have ever broken faith with the 
 band r 
 
 " Likely enough : where nobody trusts, we may 
 defy treason." 
 
 " Whether ray character and services are not 
 known and valued by our captain?" still louder 
 exclaimed the irritated Syrian. 
 
 " Aye, just as little as they deserve." 
 
 " Silence, brute," screamed the diminutive ad- 
 versary, casting his keen eyes, that doubly blazed 
 with rage, on the Ethiopian, who still lay em- 
 bracing the flagon at his ease. " With heroes- of 
 your complexion I disdain all contest, If I must
 
 192 SALATHIEL. 
 
 fight, it shall be with human beings, not with 
 savages — with men, not monsters." 
 
 The Ethiopian's black cheek absolutely grew 
 red : this taunt was the sting*. At one prodigious 
 bound he sprang across the table, and darted upon 
 the Syrian's throat with the roar and the fury of a 
 tiger. 
 
 All was instant confusion : lamps, flagons, fruits, 
 were trampled on ; the table was overthrown ; 
 swords and poniards flashed in all hands. The 
 little Syrian yelled, strangling in the grasp of the 
 black giant ; and it was with the utmost difficulty 
 that he could be rescued. The Arab, a fine ath- 
 letic fellow, achieved this object, and bade him 
 run for his life ; — a command with which he com- 
 plied unhesitatingly, followed by a cheer from 
 Hanno, who swore that if all trades failed, he 
 would make his fortune by his heels at the Olympic 
 games." 
 
 Our share of the scene was come. The fugi- 
 tive, naturally bold enough, but startled by the 
 savage ferocity of his antagonist, made his way 
 towards our place of refuge. The black got loose, 
 and pursued, I disdained to be dragged forth as 
 a lurking culprit ; and flinging open the door, stood 
 before the crowd.
 
 SALATHIEL. 193 
 
 The effect was marvellous. The tumult was 
 hushed at once. Terror seized upon their boldest. 
 Our haggard forms, seen by that half intoxication 
 which bewilders the brain before it enfeebles the 
 senses, were completely fitted to startle the super- 
 stition that lurks in the bosom of every son of the 
 sea ; and for the moment they evidently took us 
 for something- better or worse than man. 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 194 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 But the delusion was short-lived ; my voice 
 broke the spell ; and perhaps the consciousness of 
 their idle alarm increased their rage. " Spies" 
 was then the outcry ; and this dreaded sound 
 brought from their beds and tables the whole 
 band. It was in vain that I attempted to speak ; 
 the mob have no ears, whether in cities or caves ; 
 and we were dragged forward to undergo our ex- 
 amination. Yet what waste be done in the midst 
 of a host of tongues, all questioning, accusing, and 
 swearing together ? 
 
 Some were ready to take every star of heaven 
 to witness that we were a pair of Paphlagonian 
 pilots, and the identical ones hired to run two of 
 their ships aground, by which the best expedition
 
 SALATHIEL. 195 
 
 of the year was undone. Others knew us to have 
 been in the regular pay of the Procurator, and the 
 means of betraying their last captain to the axe. 
 But the majority honoured us with the character 
 of simple thieves, who had taken advantage of 
 their absence, and been driven to hide among the 
 baggage. 
 
 The question next arose; " how we could have 
 got in ?" and for the first time the carousers 
 thought of their centinel. I told them what I had 
 seen. They poured into his chamber, and their 
 suspicions were fixed in inexorable reality — •* We 
 had murdered him." The speediest death for us 
 was now the only consideration. Every man had 
 his proposal ; and never were more curious varie- 
 ties of escape from this evil world offered to two 
 wretches already weary of it; but the Arab's voice 
 carried the point. " He disliked seeing men tossed 
 into the fire; ropes were too useful, and the sword 
 was too honourable, to be employed on rogues. 
 But, as by water we came, by water we should 
 go." The sentence was received with a shout ; 
 and amidst laughter, furious cries, and threats of 
 vengeance, we were dragged to the mouth of the 
 cave. 
 
 The sternest suicide must die in his own way, 
 or he will shrink. I was reckless of life; but I
 
 196 SALATHIEL. 
 
 had not prepared myself for this midnight divorce 
 from the world. The tempest was appalling. The 
 waves burst into the anchorage in huge heaps, 
 dashing sheets of foam up to its roof. The wind 
 volleyed in gusts that took the strongest off their 
 feet ; the galleys were tossed, as if they were so 
 many weeds on the surface of the water. Lamps 
 and torches were useless ; and the only light was 
 from the funereal gleam of the billows, and the 
 sheets of sulphurous fire that fell upon the turbu- 
 lence of ocean beyond. Even the hardy forms 
 round me were disheartened ; and I took advan- 
 tage of a furious gust that swung us all aside, to 
 struggle from their grasp, and seizing a pike, fight 
 for my life. Jubal seconded me with the boldness 
 that no decay could exhaust; and setting our 
 backs to the rock, we for a while baffled our exe- 
 cutioners. But this could not last against such 
 numbers as poured to their assistance. Our pikes 
 were broken ; we were hemmed in, and finally 
 dragged again to the mouth of the cavern, that, 
 with its foam and the howl of the tumbling billows, 
 looked like the jaws of some huge monster ready 
 for its prey. 
 
 Enfeebled, bruised, and overpowered, T was on 
 the point of denying my murderers their last indul- 
 gence, and plunging headlong, when a trumpet
 
 SALATHIEL. 197 
 
 souuded. The pirates loosed their hold ; and in 
 a few minutes a large galley with all her oars 
 broken, and every sail torn to fragments, shot by 
 the mouth of the cavern. A joyous cry of " The 
 captain ! the captain !" echoed through the vaults. 
 The galley, disabled by the storm, tacked several 
 times before she could make the entrance ; but at 
 length, by a masterly manoeuvre, she was brought 
 round, and darted right in on the top of a moun- 
 tainous billow. Before the galley touched the 
 ground, the captain had leaped into the arms of 
 the band, who received him with shouts. His 
 quick eye fell upon us at once, and he demanded 
 fiercely, " what we were ?" " Spies and thieves," 
 was the general reply. " Spies !" he repeated ; 
 looking contemptuously on our habiliments. " Im- 
 possible. — Thieves, very likely, and very beggarly 
 ones. — Yet, do you think that such wretches would 
 dare to come, of themselves, within our claws?" 
 
 I denied both imputations alike. He seemed 
 struck with my words, and said to the crowd, 
 " Folly! Take them away, if it does not require 
 too much courage to touch them ; and let them be 
 washed and fed, for the honour of hospitality and 
 their own faces. The two poor devils have doubt- 
 less been driven in by the rough night ; and it is 
 rough enough to make a man wish to be any where
 
 198 SALATHIEL. 
 
 but abroad. Here, change my clothes, and order 
 supper." 
 
 " We cannot be too cautious. They may still 
 be spies," said the Egyptian, who had just arrived 
 from his slumbers. 
 
 I attempted to explain how we came. 
 
 " Of course — of course," said the captain, pull- 
 ing off his dripping garments, and flinging his 
 cloak to one, his cuirass to another, and his cap to 
 a third. " Your rags would vouch for you in any 
 port on earth. Or, if you carry on the trade of 
 treachery, you are very ill paid. Why, Memnon, 
 look at these fellows ; would you give a shekel for 
 their souls and bodies ? Not a mite. When I look 
 for spies, I expect to find them among the pros- 
 perous. The rogues who deal in secret intelli- 
 gence, take too good care of themselves. Embroi- 
 dered cloaks and jewel-hilted scymitars are a safer 
 sign than naked skins at any time. However, if 
 you turn out to be spies, eat, drink, and sleep your 
 best to-night, for you shall be hanged to-morrow." 
 
 He hurried onwards, and we followed, still in 
 durance. The banquet was reinstated ; and the 
 principal personages of the band gathered round 
 to hear the adventures of the voyage. 
 
 " All has been ill luck," said he, tossing off a 
 bumper. " The old procurator's spirit was, I
 
 SALATHIEL. 199 
 
 think, abroad ; either to take care of his plate, or 
 to torment mankind, according to his custom. We 
 were within a boat's length of the prize, when the 
 wind came right in our teeth. Every thing that 
 could, ran for the harbour : some went on the 
 rocks— some straight to the bottom ; and that we 
 might not follow their example, I put the good 
 ship before the wind, and never was better pleased 
 than to find myself at home. Thus you see, com- 
 rades, that my history is brief; but then it has an 
 advantage that history sometimes denies itself — 
 every syllable of it is true." 
 
 As the light of the lamps fell on him, it struck 
 me that his face was familiar to my recollection. 
 He was young, but the habits of his life had given 
 him a premature manhood ; his eye flashed and 
 sparkled with Greek brilliancy, but his cheek, 
 after the first flush of the banquet, was pale ; and 
 the thinness of a physiognomy naturally masculine 
 and noble, showed that either care or hardship had 
 lain heavily upon his days. 
 
 He had scarcely set down to the table, when^ 
 his glance turning where we stood guarded, he 
 ordered us to be brought before him. 
 
 " I think," said he, "you came here but a day 
 or two ago. Did you find no difficulty with our 
 sentinels ?"
 
 200 SALATHIEL. 
 
 " Ha !" exclaimed the Arab, " how could I have 
 forgotten that? I left Titus, or by whatever of his 
 hundred names he chose to be called, on guard, at 
 his own request, the day I steered for the Nile. 
 He was sick, or pretended to be so ; and, as I 
 gave myself but a couple of days for the voyage, I 
 expected to be back in time to save him from the 
 horrors of his own company. But the wind said 
 otherwise — the two days were ten ; and on my 
 return, we found the wretched fellow a corpse, — 
 whether from being taken ill, and unable to help 
 himself, or from the assistance of those worthy 
 persons here, whom we discovered in attendance." 
 
 " On that subject I have no doubt whatever," 
 interposed the Egyptian : " those villains mur- 
 dered him." 
 
 " It is possible," mused the captain. " But I 
 cannot foresee what they were to get by it — a 
 question that you at least will acknowledge to be 
 of considerable importance," said he, with a care- 
 less smile at the Egyptian, whose avarice was 
 proverbial. 
 
 The object of the satire was stung ; and to get 
 rid of the dangerous topic, he affected wrath, and 
 said impetuously, " Let it be so ; let our blood 
 go for nothing. Let treachery thrive. Let our 
 throats be at the mercy of every wandering ruffian ;
 
 SALATHIEL. 201 
 
 and let us have the consolation that our labours 
 and our sacrifices will be honoured with a sneer." 
 He turned to the crowd waiting round us. " Brave 
 comrades!" exclaimed he, "henceforth under- 
 stand that you are at every dagger's mercy ; that, 
 if you are left behind, you may be assassinated 
 with impunity : as, if you are taken out upon our 
 foolish expeditions, your lives may be flung away 
 upon the whims and follies of would-be heroes." 
 
 The crowd, fickle, and inflamed by wine, gave a 
 huzza for the " sailor's friend." The Egyptian 
 encouraged, and having a long load of gall upon 
 his memory, made the desperate venture of at 
 once disowning the authority of the captain, and 
 ordering in his own name that we should be de- 
 livered over to execution. 
 
 The captain listened, without a word ; but his 
 hand was on his scymitar, and his cheek burned, 
 as he fixed his eyes on the livid accuser. The 
 crowd pressed closer upon us ; and I saw the 
 dagger pointed at my breast — when I recollected 
 the letter. I gave it to the captain, who read it in 
 silence ; and then, with the utmost composure, 
 desired it to be handed over to the Egyptian. 
 
 " Comrades," said he, " I have to apologize for 
 breach of the confidence that should always sub- 
 sist between men of honour. I have here acci-
 
 202 SALATHIEL. 
 
 dentally read a letter which the cipher shows to 
 have been intended for our trusty friend Memnon ; 
 but, since the subject is no longer confined to him- 
 self, he will doubtless feel no objection to indulging- 
 us all with the correspondence." 
 
 The band thronged round the table ; expecta- 
 tion sat on every face ; and its various expression 
 in the crowded circle of those strong physiogno- 
 mies — the keen, the wondering, the angry, the 
 contemptuous, the convinced, the triumphant- — 
 would have made an incomparable study for a 
 painter. The Egyptian took the letter with a 
 trembling hand, and read the fatal words. 
 
 " The fleet will be off the northern promontory 
 by midnight. You will light a signal, and be 
 ready to conduct the troops into the cavern." 
 
 The reader let the fatal despatch fall from his 
 hands. An outcry of wrath rose on all sides ; and 
 the traitor was on the point of being sacrificed, 
 when the young Idumean generously started 
 forward. 
 
 ** It is known, I believe, to every man here," 
 said he, " that I dislike and distrust Memnon as 
 much as any being on earth. I knew him to be 
 base and cruel, and therefore hated him. I have 
 long suspected him of being connected with trans- 
 actions that nothing but the madness of avarice
 
 SALATHIEL. 203 
 
 could venture upon, and nothing but death atone. 
 But he must not perish without trial. Till inquiry 
 is made, the man who strikes him must strike 
 through me." He placed himself before the cul- 
 prit ; who, now taking courage, long and dexterous- 
 ly insisted that the letter was a forgery, invented 
 by " assassins and those who employed assassins." 
 
 The tide of popular wisdom is easily turned. 
 Opinion was now raging against me, and the 
 Egyptian stood a fair chance of seeing his reputa- 
 tion cleared in my blood. 
 
 " Come," said the captain, rising, " as we are 
 not likely to gain much information from the living, 
 let us see whether the dead can give us any : lead 
 on, prisoners." 
 
 I led the way to the recess. The dead man lay 
 untouched ; but, in the interval, the features had 
 returned, as is often the case in death, to the ex- 
 pression of former years. I uttered an exclama- 
 tion ; he was the domestic that had betrayed me to 
 the Procurator. 
 
 " Conscience !" cried the Egyptian. 
 
 " Conscience !" echoed the crowd. 
 
 The captain turned to me. " Did either you or 
 your companion commit this murder? I will have 
 no long stories. They will not go down with me. 
 The fellow was a villain ; and if he had lived till
 
 204 SALATHIEL. 
 
 my return, he should have fed the crows wlthm 
 the next twelve hours. One word — yes or no." 
 
 I answered firmly. 
 
 "I believe you," said the captain. He took 
 the hand of the corpse, and called to the Egyp- 
 tian. ** Take this hand, and swear that you know 
 nothing of the treason. But, ha ! what have we 
 here ?" As he lifted the arm, the sleeve of the 
 tunic gave way, and a slip of papyrus fell on the 
 bed. He caught it up, and exclaiming, " What ! 
 to-night ? pernicious villain !" — turned to the as- 
 tonished band. 
 
 " Comrades, there is the blackest treachery 
 among us. We are sold — sold by that accursed 
 Egyptian. Strip the slave, and fling him into the 
 dungeon until I return ; no — he shall come with 
 us, in chains. Call up the band. Every galley 
 must be put to sea instantly, if we would not be 
 burned in our beds." 
 
 The trumpets sounded through the cavern ; and 
 rapid preparations were made for obeying this un- 
 expected command. The fires blazed again ; arms 
 and armour rang ; men were mustered ; and the 
 galleys swung out from their moorings in the midst 
 of tumult and volleys of execrations against the 
 treachery that " could not wait for daylight and 
 fair weather."
 
 SALATHIEL. 205 
 
 " And now," said the captain, " while our lads 
 are getting ready, I think that it is time for rae to 
 sup. Sit down, and let us hear over our wine 
 what story the prisoners have to tell." 
 
 I briefly stated our escape from the dungeon. 
 
 " It may be a lie ; yet the thing hangs not 
 badly together. Your wardrobe speaks prodi- 
 giously in favour of your veracity. Ho ! Ben 
 Ali, see that the avenue into the warehouse is 
 stopped up. We must have no visits from the 
 garrison of the tower. And now, hear my story 
 of the night: — As I was lying off and on, waiting 
 to catch that cursed galley, a correspondent on 
 shore let rae partly into the secret of that Egyptian 
 dog's dealings. Rich as the knave was, — and how 
 he came by his money Tartarus only knows, — 
 Roman gold had charms for him still. In fact, he 
 had been carrying on a very handsome trade in 
 information during the last six months ; which 
 may best account for the escape of two fleets from 
 Byzantium, and not less for the present safety of 
 the procurator's plate ; which, however, I hope, 
 by the blessing of Neptune, to see, before another 
 week, shining upon this table. Your discovery 
 was of infinite use. That an attack upon us was 
 intended, I was aware ; but the how and when 
 were the difficulty. The time of the attack was
 
 206 SALATHIEL. 
 
 announced in the papyrus ; and but for the storm, 
 we should probably be now doing other things than 
 supping." 
 
 " The sea is going down already, and the wind 
 has changed," said the Arab. " We can haul oflF 
 the shore without loss of time." 
 
 " Then, the sooner the better. We must seal 
 up the Homans in their port ; or if they venture 
 out on such a night, give them sound reason for 
 wishing that they had stayed at home. Their 
 galleys, if good for nothing else, will do to burn." 
 
 This bold determination was received with a 
 general cheer : the leaders rose, and drank to the 
 glory of their expedition ; and all rushed towards 
 the galleys, which, crowded with men, lay tossing 
 at the edge of the arch. 
 
 I followed, and demanded what was to be our 
 fate. " Here we will not stay : put us to death 
 at once rather than leave us to perish here." 
 
 " Well then, what will you have?" 
 
 " Any thing but this desperate abandonment. 
 Let us take the chances of your voyage, and be 
 set on shore at the first place you touch." 
 
 " And sell our secret to the best bidder J No. 
 But I have no time to make terms with you now. 
 One word for all : ragged as you both are, you are 
 strong ; and your faces would do no great discredit
 
 SALATHIEL. 207 
 
 to our profession. You probably think this no 
 very striking compliment," said he, laughing. 
 " However, I have taken a whim to have you with 
 us, and offer you promotion. Will you take ser- 
 vice with the noble company of the Free-trade?" 
 
 Jubal was rashly indignant ; 1 checked him, 
 and merely answered, that I had purposes of ex- 
 treme exigency which prevented my accepting his 
 offer. 
 
 " Ha! morality," exclaimed he ; " you will not 
 be seen with rogues like us?" He laughed aloud. 
 " Why, man, if you will not live, eat, drink, travel, 
 and die, with rogues, where upon earth can you 
 expect to live or die ? The difference between us 
 and the world is, that we do the thing without the 
 additional vice of hypocrisy." 
 
 The leaders, who waited round us, felt for the 
 honour of their calling ; and, but for their awe of 
 the captain, we stood but slight chance of living 
 even to hear the question settled. 
 
 " A pike might let a little light into their un- 
 derstandings," said one. 
 
 " If they would not follow on the deck, they 
 should swim at the stern," said another. 
 
 " The hermits should be sent back to their dun- 
 geon to study philosophy," said a third. 
 
 The boat was run up on the sand. " Get in,
 
 208 SALATHIEL. 
 
 said the captain. " I have taken it into my head 
 to convince you by fact, of the honour, dignity, 
 and primitiveness of our profession ; which is, in 
 the first place, the oldest, for it was the original 
 employment of human hands. In the next place, 
 the most universal ; for it is the principle of all 
 trades, pursuits, and professions, from the emperor 
 on his throne, down through the doctor, the 
 lawyer, and the merchant, to the very sediment of 
 society." 
 
 A loud " bravo " echoed through the cavern. 
 " Are you not convinced yet?" said the captain. 
 " The Free-trade is the very essence of the vir- 
 tues ; all the teachers of your philosophy are 
 dumb to it. For example ; I meet a merchant- 
 man loaded with goods — for what is the cargo 
 meant? To purchase slaves; to tear fathers from 
 their families— husbands from their wives; to 
 burn villages ; and bribe savages to murder each 
 other. — I strip the hold : the slave-market is at an 
 end : and no one suffers, but a fellow who ought to 
 have been hanged long ago." 
 
 The captain's doctrine was more popular than 
 ever. 
 
 " I meet a rich old rogue," continued he, " on 
 his voyage between the iskvnds. What is he going 
 to do i To marrv some prettv creature who has
 
 SALATHIEL. 209 
 
 a young lover, perhaps a dozen. The marriag-e 
 would break her heart ; and raise a little rebellion 
 in the island. — We capture the old Cupid, strip 
 him of his coin, and he is a Cupid no more ; 
 fathers and mothers abhor him at once ; the young 
 lover has his bride ; and the old one his lesson. 
 The one gets his love, and the other his experi- 
 ence ; and both have to thank the gallant crew 
 of the Scorpion ; which Heaven long keep above 
 water." 
 
 A joyous huzza, and the waving of caps and 
 swords, hailed the captain's display. " The Free- 
 trade for ever !" was shouted in all directions. 
 
 " I see, comrades," said the captain, " that 
 though truth is persuasive, your huzza is not for 
 me, but for fact. — We find a young rake ranging 
 the world with more money than brains, sowing 
 sedition among the fair rivals for the honour of 
 sharing his purse ; running away with daughters ; 
 gambling greater fools than himself out of their 
 fortunes ; in short, playing the profligate in all 
 shapes. — He drops into our hands, and we strip 
 him to the last penny. What is the consequence ? 
 we make him virtuous on the spot. The profligate 
 becomes a model of penitence ; the root of all his 
 ills has been unearthed; the prodigal is saving; 
 the bacchanal temperate ; the seducer lives in the
 
 210 SALATHIEL. 
 
 inoocence of a babe; the gambler never touches 
 a die. We have broken the main-spring of his 
 vices — money; disarmed the soft deceiver of his 
 spell — money ; checked the infection of the gam- 
 bler's example, by cutting off the source of the 
 disease — money ; or, if nothing can teach him 
 common sense, our dungeon will at least keep him 
 out of harm's way. 
 
 " And now, my heroes of salt-water, noble 
 brothers of the Nereids, sons of the star-light, 
 here I make libation to our next merry meeting." 
 He poured a part of his cup into the wave, and 
 drank to the general health, with the remainder. 
 
 " Happiness to all! let our work to-night be 
 what it will, I know, my lads, that it will be hand- 
 somely done. The enemy may call us names ; but 
 you will answer them by solid proofs, that, what- 
 ever we may be, we are neither slaves nor das- 
 tards. If I catch the insolent commander of the 
 Roman fleet, I will teach him a lesson in morals 
 that he never knew before. He shall flog, fleece, 
 and torture, no more. I will turn the hard-hearted 
 tyrant into tenderness from top to toe. His treat- 
 ment of the crew of the Hysena was infamous ; 
 and by Jupiter, what I owe him shall be discharged 
 in full. Now, on board, my heroes, and may 
 Neptune take care of you !"
 
 SALATHIEL. 211 
 
 The trumpets flourished ; the people cheered ; 
 the boats pushed off; the galleys hoisted every 
 sail ; and in a moment we found ourselves rushing 
 through the water, under the wildest canopy of 
 heaven.
 
 212 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 We stretched out far to sea, for the doutjle 
 purpose of falling by surprise upon the Roman 
 squadron, and avoiding the shoals. The wind 
 lulled at intervals so much, that we had recourse 
 to our oars ; it would then burst down with a vio- 
 lence that all but hurled us out of the water. I 
 now saw more of the captain, and was witness of 
 the extraordinary energy, activity, and skill, of 
 this singular young man. Never was there a 
 more expert seaman. For every change of sea 
 or wind, he had a new expedient; and when the 
 hearts of the stoutest sank, he took the helm into 
 his hands, and carried us through the chaos of 
 water, foam, whirlwind, and lightning, with the
 
 SALATHIEL. 213 
 
 vigour and daring of one born to sport with the 
 storm. 
 
 As I was gazing over the vessel's side, on the 
 phosphoric gleams that danced along the ridges of 
 the billows, he came up to me. 
 
 *' I am sorry," said he, " that we have been 
 compelled to give you so rough a specimen of our 
 hospitality ; and this is not altogether a summer 
 sea; but you saw how the matter stood. The 
 enemy would have been upon us ; and the whole 
 advantage of our staying at home would be, to 
 have our throats cut in company." 
 
 Odd and rambling as his style was, there was 
 something in his manner and voice that had struck 
 me before, even in the boisterousness of the con- 
 vivial crowd. But now, in the solitary ocean, 
 there was a melancholy sweetness in his tones 
 that made me start with sad recollection. Yet, 
 when by the lightning I attempted to discover in 
 his features any clue to memory, and saw but the 
 tall figure wrapped in the sailor's cloak, the hair 
 streaming over his face in the spray, and every 
 line of his powerful physiognomy at its full stretch 
 in the agitation of the time, the thought vanished 
 again, 
 
 " I hinted," said he, after an interval of silence, 
 " at your taking chance with us. If you will, you
 
 214 SALATIIIEL. 
 
 may. But the hint was thrown out merely to 
 draw off the fellows about me ; and you are at full 
 liberty to forget it." 
 
 " It is impossible to join you," was my an- 
 swer; " my life is due to my country." 
 
 " Oh! for that matter, so is mine, and due a 
 long time ago : my only wonder is, how I have 
 evaded payment till now. But I am a man of few 
 words. I have taken a sort of liking to you, and 
 should wish to have a few such at hand. The 
 world calls me villain, and the majority of course 
 carries the question. For its opinion, I do not 
 care a cup of water : a bubble of this foam would 
 weigh as heavy with me, as the rambling, giddy, 
 vulgar judgment of a world in which the first of 
 talents is scoundrelism. I never knew a man fail, 
 who brought to market prostitution of mind enough 
 to make him a tool ; vice enough to despise every 
 thing but gain; and cunning eaough to keep him- 
 self out of the hands of the magistrate, till opu- 
 lence enabled him to corrupt the law, or authority 
 to defy it. But let this pass. The point between 
 us is, will you take service?" 
 
 " No ! — I feel the strongest gratitude for the 
 manliness and generosity of your protection. You 
 saved our lives ; and our only hope of revisiting 
 Judea in freedom is through you. But, young
 
 SALATHIEL. 215 
 
 man, I have a great cause in hand. I have risked 
 every thing for it. Family, wealth, rank, life, are 
 my stake ; and I look upon every hour given to 
 other things as so far a fraud upon my country." 
 
 I heard him sigh. There was silence on both 
 sides for a while, and he paced the deck; then 
 suddenly returning, laid his hand on my shoulder. 
 " I am convinced of your honour," said he, " and 
 far be it from me to betray a man who has indeed 
 a purpose worthy of manhood, into our broken and 
 unhappy — aye, let the word come out, infamous 
 career. But you tell me that I have been of some 
 use to you ; I now demand the return. You have 
 refused to take service with me. — Let me take 
 service with you !" 
 
 I stared at him. He smiled sadly, and said, 
 " You will not associate with one stained like me. 
 Aye, for the robber there is no repentance. Yet 
 why shall the world," and his voice was full of 
 anguish, " why shall the ungenerous and misjudg- 
 ing world be suffered to expel and keep for ever 
 at a distance those whom it has first betrayed?" 
 His emotion got the better of him, and his voice 
 sank. He again approached me. " I am weary 
 of this kind of life. Not that I have reason to 
 complain of the men about me, nor that I dislike 
 the roaming and chances of the sea ; but, that I
 
 216 SALATHIEL. 
 
 feel the desire to be something better — to redeem 
 myself out of the number of the dishonoured ; to 
 do something which, whether T live or die, will 
 satisfy me that I was not meant to be — the outcast 
 that I am." 
 
 " Then join us, if you will," said I. ** Our 
 cause demands the bold ; and the noblest spirit 
 that ever dwelt in man, would find its finest field 
 in the deliverance of our land of holiness and 
 glory. But, can you leave all that you have round 
 you here V 
 
 " Not without a struggle. I have an infinite 
 delight in this wild kind of existence. I love the 
 strong excitement of hazard ; I love the perpetual 
 bustle of our career ; I love even the capricious- 
 ness of wind and wave. I have wealth in return 
 for its perils ; and no man knows what enjoyment 
 is, but he who knows it through the fatigue of a 
 sailor's life. All the banquets of epicurism are not 
 half so delicious, as even the simplest meal, to his 
 hun'^er ; nor the softest bed of luxury half so 
 refreshing as the bare deck to his weariness. But 
 I must break up those habits ; and, whether beggar 
 and slave, or soldier and obtaining the distinction 
 of a soldier's success, I am determined on trying 
 my chance among mankind." 
 
 A sheet of lightning covered the whole horizon
 
 SALATHIEL. 217 
 
 with blue flame ; and a huge ball of fire springing 
 from the cloud, after a long flight over the waters, 
 split upon the shore. 
 
 The keenness of the sailor's eye saw what had 
 escaped mine. " This was a lucky sea-light for 
 us," said he. " The Romans are lying under 
 yonder promontory ; driven to take shelter by the 
 gale, of course : — but for that fire ball, they would 
 have escaped me." 
 
 All hands were summoned upon deck ; signals 
 made to the other galleys ; the little fleet brought 
 into close order ; pikes, torches, and combustibles 
 of all kinds gathered upon the poop ; the sails 
 furled ; and with muffled oars we glided down 
 upon the enemy. 
 
 The Roman squadron, with that precaution 
 which was the essential principle of their matchless 
 discipline, were drawn up in order of battle, 
 though they could have had no expectation of 
 being attacked on such a night. But the roar of 
 the wind buried every other sound, and we stole 
 round the promontory unheard. 
 
 The short period of this silent navigation was 
 one of the keenest anxiety. All but those neces- 
 sary for the working of the vessel were lying on 
 their faces ; we feared lest the very drawing of 
 our breath might give the alarm ; not a limb was 
 
 VOL. II. K
 
 218 SALATHIEL. 
 
 moved, and, like a galley of the dead, we floated 
 on, filled with destruction. We were yet at some 
 distance from the twinkling lights that showed the 
 prefect's trireme ; when, on glancing round, I 
 perceived a dark object on the water, and pointed 
 it out to the captain. He looked, but looked in 
 vain. 
 
 " Some lurking spy," said he, " that was born 
 to pay for his knowledge." With a sailor's promp- 
 titude, he caught up a lamp, and swung it over- 
 board. It fell beside the object, a small boat as 
 black as the waves themselves. 
 
 " Now for the sentinel," were his words, as he 
 plunged into the sea. The act was rapid as 
 thought. I heard a struggle, a groan, and the 
 boat floated empty beside me on the next billow. 
 
 But there was no time for search. We were 
 within an oar's length of the anchorage. To com- 
 municate the loss of their captain, (and what 
 could human struggle do among the mountain 
 waves of that sea ?) might be to dispirit the crew, 
 and ruin the enterprise. I took the command 
 upon myself, and gave the word to fall on. 
 
 A storm of fire, as strange to the enemy as if it 
 had risen from the bottom of the sea, was instantly 
 poured on the advanced ships. The surprise was 
 total. The crews, exhausted by the night, were
 
 SALATHIEL. 219 
 
 chiefly asleep. The troops on board were helpless, 
 on decks covered with the spray, and among 
 shrouds and sails falling- down in burning frag- 
 ments on their heads. Our shouts gave them the 
 idea of being attacked by overwhelming numbers: 
 and, after a short dispute, we cleared the whole 
 outer line of every sailor and soldier. The whole 
 was soon a pile of flame, a sea volcano that lighted 
 sky, sea, and shore. 
 
 Yet only half our work was done. The enemy 
 were now fully awake, and no man could despise 
 Roman preparation. I ordered a fire-galley to be 
 run in between the leading ships ; but she was 
 caught half way by a chain, and turned round, 
 scattering flame among ourselves. The boats were 
 then lowered, and our most desperate fellows sent 
 to cut out, or board. But the crowded decks 
 drove them back, and the Roman pike was an 
 over-match for our short falchions. For a while 
 we were forced to content ourselves with the 
 distant exchange of lances and arrows. The affair 
 became critical. The enemy were still three times 
 our force ; they were unmooring ; and our only 
 chance of destroying them was at anchor. I called 
 the crew forward, and proposed that we should 
 run the galley close on the prefect's ship, set them 
 both on fire, and, in the confusion, carry the re-
 
 220 " SALATHIEL. 
 
 maining vessels. But sailors, if as bold, are as 
 capricious as their eleraeot. Our partial repulse 
 had already disheartened them. I was met by 
 murmurs and clamours for the captain. The cla- 
 mours rose into open charges that I had, to get 
 the command, thrown him overboard. 
 
 I was alone. Jubal, worn out with fatigue and 
 illness, was lying at my feet, more requiring de- 
 fence than able to afford it. The crowd were 
 growing furious against the stranger. I felt that 
 all depended on the moment, and leaped from the 
 poop into the midst of the mutineers. 
 
 " Fools," I exclaimed, "what could I get by 
 making away with your captain ? I have no wish 
 for your command. I have no want of your help. 
 I disdain you : — bold as lions, over the table ; tame 
 as sheep, on the deck ; I leave you to be butchered 
 by the Romans. Let the brave follow me, if such 
 there be among you." 
 
 A shallop that had returned with the defeated 
 boarders lay by the galley's side. I seized a torch. 
 Eight or ten, roused by my taunts, followed me 
 into the boat. We pulled right for the Roman 
 centre. Every man had a torch in one hand, and 
 an oar in the other. We shot along the waters, a 
 flying mass of flame ; and while both fleets were 
 gazing on us in astonishment, rushed under the
 
 SALATHIEL. 221 
 
 poop of the commander's trireme. The fire sooq 
 rolled up her tarry sides, and ran along- the 
 cordage. But the defence was desperate, and 
 lances rained upon us. Half of us were disabled 
 in the first discharge ; the shallop was battered 
 with huge stones ; and 1 felt that she was sinking. 
 
 *' One trial more, brave comrades, one glorious 
 attempt more! The boat must go down; and 
 unless we would go along with it, we must board." 
 
 I leaped forward, and clung to the chains. My 
 example was followed. The boat went down ; and 
 this sight, which was just discoverable by the livid 
 flame of the vessel, raised a roar of triumph 
 among the enemy. But to climb up the tall sides 
 of the trireme was beyond our skill, and we re- 
 mained dashed by the heavy waves as she rose and 
 fell. Our only alternatives now were to be piked, 
 drowned, or burned. The flame was already 
 rapidly advancing. Showers of sparkles fell upon 
 our heads ; the clamps and iron-work were grow- 
 ing hot to the touch ; the smoke was rolling over 
 us in suffbcating volumes. I was giving up all 
 for lost; when a mountainous billow swept the 
 vessel's stern round, and I saw a blaze burst out 
 from the shore. The Roman tents were on flame ! 
 
 Consternation seized the crews thus attacked 
 on all sides ; and uncertain of the number of the
 
 222 SALATHIEL. 
 
 assailants, they began to desert the ships, and, by 
 boats or swimming, make for various points of the 
 land. The sight re-animated me. I climbed up 
 the side of the trireme, torch in hand, and with my 
 haggard countenance, made still wilder by the wild 
 work of the night, looked a formidable apparition 
 to men already harassed out of all courage. They 
 plunged overboard, and I was monarch of the 
 finest war-galley on the coast of Syria. 
 
 But my kingdom was without subjects. None 
 of my own crew had followed me. I saw the 
 pirate vessels bearing down to complete the de- 
 struction of the fleet ; and hailed them, but they 
 all swept far wide of the trireme. The fire had 
 taken too fast hold of her to make approach safe. 
 I now began to feel my situation. The first triumph 
 was past, and I found myself deserted. The deed 
 of devastation was in the mean while rapidly going 
 on. I saw the Roman ships successively boarded, 
 almost without resistance, and in a blaze. The 
 conflagration rose in sheets and spires to the hea- 
 vens, and coloured the waters to an immeasurable 
 extent with the deepest dye of gore. 
 
 I heard the victorious shouts, and mine rose 
 spontaneously along with them. In every vessel 
 burned, in every torch flung, I rejoiced in a new 
 blow to the tyrants of Judea. But my thoughts
 
 SALATHIEL. 223 
 
 were soon fearfully brought home. The fire 
 reached the cables ; the trireme, plunging and 
 tossing like a living creature in its last agony, 
 burst away from her anchors : the wind was off 
 the shore ; a gust, strong as the blow of a batter- 
 ing ram, struck her ; and, on the back of a huge 
 refluent wave, she shot out to sea, a flying pyra- 
 mid of fire.
 
 224 SALATHlEi*. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Never was man more indifferent to the result 
 than the solitary voyager of the burning- trireme. 
 What had life for me ? I looked at pain with 
 instinctive dread ; but the waves offered a ready 
 refuge from the more hideous suffering, and a single 
 plunge in the whirling foam at my side would be 
 the complete and instant cure of all the pangs that 
 besiege the flesh. I gazed round me. The ele- 
 ment of fire reigned supreme. The shore — moun- 
 tain, vale, and sand — was bright as day, from the 
 blaze of the tents, and floating fragments of the 
 galleys. The heavens were an arch of angry 
 splendour — every stooping cloud swept along, 
 reddened with the various dyes of the conflagra- 
 tion below. The sea was a rolling abyss of the
 
 SALATHIEL. 225 
 
 fiercest colour of slaughter. The blazing vessels, 
 loosened from the shore, rushed madly before the 
 storm, sheet and shroud shaking loose abroad, like 
 vast wings of flame. 
 
 At length all disappeared. The shore faded far 
 into a dim line of light ; the galleys sank or were 
 consumed ; the sea grew dark again ; the light- 
 nings were the only blaze of heaven. But the 
 trireme, strongly built, and of immense size, still 
 fed the flame, and still shot on through the tem- 
 pest, that fell on her more furiously as she lost the 
 cover of the land. The waves rose to a height 
 that often bafiled the wind, and left me floating in 
 a strange calm between two black walls of water, 
 reaching to the clouds, and on whose smooth sides 
 the image of the burning vessel was reflected as 
 strongly as in a mirror. But the ascent to the 
 summit of those fearful barriers again let in the 
 storm in its rage. The tops of the billows were 
 whirled ofl* in sheets of foam ; the wind tore mast 
 and sail away ; and the vessel was dashed forward 
 like a stone discharged from an engine. I stood 
 on the poop, which the spray and the wind kept 
 clear of flame, and contemplated, with some feel- 
 ing of the fierce grandeur of the spectacle, the fire 
 rolling over the forward part of the vessel in a 
 thousand shapes and folds.
 
 226 SALATHIEL. 
 
 While I was thus careering along, like the 
 genius of fire upon his throne, I caught a glimpse 
 of sails scattering in every direction before me — I 
 had rushed into the middle of one of those small 
 trading fleets that coasted annually between the 
 Euxine and the Nile. They flew as if pursued by 
 a fiend. But the same wind that bore them, bore 
 me ; and their screams, as the trireme bounded 
 from billow to billow on their track, were audible 
 even through the roarings of the storm. 
 
 They gradually succeeded in spreading them- 
 selves so far, that the contact with the flame must 
 be partial. But, on one, the largest and most 
 crowded, the trireme bore inevitably down. The 
 hunted ship tried every mode of escape in vain ; it 
 manoeuvred with extraordinary skill ; but the pur- 
 suer, lightened of every burthen, rushed on like 
 a messenger of vengeance. 
 
 I could distinctly see the confusion and misery 
 of the crowd that covered the deck ; men and 
 women kneeling, weeping, dying ; or, in the fierce 
 riot of despair, struggling for some wretched spoil, 
 or equally wretched indulgence, that a few mo- 
 ments more must tear from all alike. But amona- 
 the fearful mingling of sounds, one voice I heard 
 that struck to my soul. It alone roused me from 
 my stern scorn of human suffering, I no longer
 
 SALATHIEL. 227 
 
 looked upon those beings as upon insects that must 
 be crushed in the revolution of the great wheel of 
 fate. The heart, the living human heart, palpi- 
 tated within me. I rushed to the side of the 
 trireme, and with voice and hand made signals to 
 the crew to take me on board. 
 
 But at my call a cry of agony echoed through 
 the vessel. All fled to its further part, but a few, 
 who, unable to move, were seen dropt on their 
 knees, and in the attitudes of preternatural fear, 
 imploring every power of heaven. Shocked by the 
 consciousness that, even in the hour when mutual 
 hazard softens the heart of man, I was an object of 
 horror, I shrank back. I heard the voice once 
 more ; and once more resolved to make an effort 
 for life ; flung a burning fragment over the side, 
 to help me through the waves. 
 
 But the time was past. The fragment had 
 scarcely touched the foam, when a sheet of light- 
 ning wrapped sea and sky ; the flying vessel was 
 gone. My eye looked but upon the wilderness of 
 waters. The flash was fatal to both. It had 
 struck the hold of the trireme, in which was stowed 
 a large freightage of the bitumen and nitre of the 
 desert. A column of flame, white as silver, rose 
 straight and steadily up to the clouds ; and the 
 huge ship, disparting timber by timber, reeled,
 
 228 SAliATHIEL. 
 
 heaved, and plunged headlong into the bosom of 
 the ocean. 
 
 I rose to the surface from a prodigious depth. I 
 was nearly breathless. My limbs were wasted with 
 famine and fatigue ; but the tossing of the surges 
 sustained and swept me on. The chill at last be- 
 numbed me, and my limbs were heavy as iron ; 
 when a broken mast rolling by, entangled me in its 
 cordage. It drove towards a point of land round 
 which the current swept. Strongly netted in the 
 wreck, I was dragged along, sometimes above the 
 water, sometimes below. But a violent shock 
 released me, and with a new terror of the death 
 that I had so long resisted, I felt myself go down. 
 I was ingulfed in the whirlpool ! 
 
 Every sensation was horridly vivid. I had the 
 full consciousness of life, and of the unfathomable 
 depth into which I was descending. I heard the 
 roar and rushing of the Avaters round me ; the 
 holding of my breath was torture ; I strained, 
 struggled, tossed out my arms, grasped madly 
 around, as if to catch something that might retard 
 my hideous descent. My eyes were open. I 
 never was less stunned by shock or fear. The 
 solid darkness, the suflbcation, the furious whirl 
 of the eddy that spun me round its huge circle 
 like an atom of sand, every sense of drowning.
 
 SALATHIEL. 229 
 
 passed through my shattered frame with an indi- 
 vidual and successive pang. 
 
 I at last touched something, whether living or 
 dead, fish or stone, I know not ; but the impulse 
 changed my direction, and I was darted up to the 
 surface. 
 
 The storm had gone with the rapidity of the 
 south. The stars burned brightly blue above my 
 head. The pleasant breath of groves and flowery 
 perfumes came on the waters. A distant sound 
 of sweet voices lingered on the air. Like one 
 roused from a frightful dream, I could scarcely 
 believe that this was reality. But the rolling 
 waters behind gave me sudden evidence. A bil- 
 low, the last messenger of the storm, burst hito 
 the little bay, filled it to the brim with foam, and 
 tossed me far forward. It rolled back, dragging 
 with it the sedge and pebbles of the beach, with 
 an enormous noise. I grasped the trunk of an 
 olive, rough and firm as the rock itself. The 
 retiring wave left me ; I felt my way some paces 
 among the trees ; cast myself down, ai>d, worn 
 out with fatigue, had scarcely touched the earth, 
 when I fell into that profound sleep which is the 
 twin brother of death. 
 
 I awoke in the decline of the day, as I could 
 perceive by the yellow and orange hues that
 
 230 SALATHIEL. 
 
 coloured the thick branches above me. I was 
 lying in a delicious recess, crowded with fruit- 
 trees ; my bed was the turf, but it was soft as 
 down; a solitary nightingale above my head was 
 sending forth snatches of that melody which night 
 prolongs into the very voice of sweetness and sor- 
 row; and a balmy air from the wild thyme and 
 blossoms of the rose breathed soothingly even to 
 the mind. 
 
 I had been thrown on one of the little isles that 
 lie off Anthsedon, a portion of the Philistine terri- 
 tory, before it was won by our hero Maccabaeus. 
 The commerce which once filled the arm of the 
 sea near Gaza, perished in the change of masters ; 
 and silence and seclusion reigned in a spot for- 
 merly echoing with the tumult of merchant and 
 mariner. The little isle, the favourite retreat of 
 the opulent Greek and Syrian traders in the over- 
 powering heats of summer, and cultivated with 
 the lavish expenditure of commercial taste, now 
 gave no proof of its ever having felt the foot of 
 man, but in the spontaneous pouring out of 
 flowers, once brought from every region of the 
 East and West, and the exquisite fruits that still 
 enriched its slopes and dells. 
 
 In all things else, nature had resumed her 
 rights ; the pavilions, the temples of Parian and
 
 SALATHIEL. 231 
 
 Numidian stone, were in ruins, and buried under 
 a carpet of roses and myrtles. The statues left 
 but here and there a remnant of themselves, a 
 sublime relic wreathed over in fantastic spirals by 
 the clematis and other climbing plants. The 
 sculptured fountain let its waters loose over the 
 ground ; and the guardian genius that hung in 
 marble beauty over the spring, had long since 
 resigned his charge, and lay mutilated and dis- 
 coloured with the air and the dew. But the 
 spring still gushed, bounding bright between the 
 gray fissures of the cliff, and marking its course 
 through the plain by the richer mazes of green. 
 
 To me, who was as weary of existence as ever 
 was galley-slave, this spot of quiet loveliness had 
 a tenfold power. My mind, like my body, longed 
 for rest. 
 
 Through life I had walked in a thorny path. I 
 had winged a tempestuous atmosphere. Useless 
 hazards, wild projects, bitter sufferings, were my 
 portion. My affections, those feelings in which 
 alone I could be said to live, had been made inlets 
 of pain. The love which nature and justice won 
 from me to my family, was perpetually thwarted 
 by a chain of circumstances that made me a 
 wretched, helpless, and solitary man. What then 
 could I do better than abandon the idle hope of
 
 232 SALATHIEL. 
 
 finding- happiness among mankind, break off the 
 trial which must be prolonged only to my evil, 
 and elude the fate that destined me to be an exile 
 in the world ? Yes ! I would no longer be a man 
 of suffering in the presence of its happiness ; a 
 wretch stripped of an actual purpose or a solid 
 hope in the midst of its activity and triumph \ the 
 abhorred example of a career miserable with de- 
 feated pursuit, and tantalized with expectations, 
 vain as the bubble on the stream ! 
 
 In this stern resolve, gathering a courage from 
 despair, — as the criminal standing on the scaffold 
 scoffs at the world that rejects him, — I determined 
 to exclude recollection. The spot round me was 
 to fill up the whole measure of my thoughts. Wife, 
 children, friend, country, to me must exist no 
 more. I imaged them in the tomb ; I talked with 
 them as shadows, as the graceful and lovely ex- 
 istences of ages past ; but laboured to divest 
 them of the individual features that cling to the 
 soul. 
 
 Lest this mystic repose should be disturbed by 
 any of the sights of living man, I withdrew deeper 
 into the shades which first sheltered me. It was 
 enough for me that there was a canopy of leaves 
 above to shield my limbs from the casual visita- 
 tions of a sky whose sapphire looked scarcely
 
 SALATHIEL. ' 233 
 
 capable of a stain, and that the turf was soft 
 for my couch. Fruits, sufficient to tempt the 
 most luxurious taste, were falling round ; and the 
 waters of the bright rivulet scooped in the rind 
 of citron and orange, v/ere a draught that the 
 epicure might envy. I was utterly ignorant on 
 what shore of the Mediterranean I was thrown, 
 further than that the sun rose behind my bower, 
 and threw his western lustre on the waveless ex- 
 panse of sea that spread before it to the round 
 horizon.
 
 234 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 But no man can be a philosopher against na- 
 ture. With ray strength the desire of exertion 
 returned. My most voluptuous rest became 
 irksome. Memory would not be restrained ; the 
 floodgates of thought opened once more ; and to 
 resist the passion for the world, I was driven to 
 the drudgery of the hands. I gathered wood for 
 the winter's fuel, in the midst of days when the 
 sun poured fire from the heavens ; I attempted to 
 build a hut, beside grottos that a hermit would 
 love; I trained trees, and cultivated flowers, 
 where the soil threw out all that was rich in both 
 with exhaustless prodigality. 
 
 But no expedient would appease the passion for 
 the absorbing business of the world. My bower
 
 SALATHIEL. 235 
 
 lost its enchantment ; the delight of lying on beds 
 of violet, and, with my eyes fixed on the heavens, 
 wandering away on the wings of fantastic illusion, 
 palled upon me ; the colours of the vision grew 
 dim. I no more imaged shapes of beauty winging 
 their way through the celestial azure ; I heard no 
 harmonies of spirits on the midnight winds ; I fol- 
 lowed no longer the sun, rushing on his golden 
 chariot-wheels to lands unstained by human step ; 
 or plunged with him into the depths, and ranged 
 the secret wonders of ocean. 
 
 Labour, in its turn, grew irksome. I reproached 
 myself for the vulgar existence which occupied 
 only the inferior portion of my nature ; living only 
 for food, sleep, and shelter, what was I better than 
 the seals that basked on the shore at my feet? 
 Night, too, — that mysterious rest, interposed for 
 purposes of such varied beneficence — to cool the 
 brain fevered by the bustle of the day — to soften 
 mutual hostility by a pause to which all alike must 
 yield — to remind our forgetful nature, by a per- 
 petual semblance, of the time when all things must 
 pass away, and be silent, and change — to sit in 
 judgment on our hearts, and, by a decision which 
 no hypocrisy can disguise, anticipate the punish- 
 ment of the villain, as it gives the man of virtue
 
 236 SALATIIIEL. 
 
 the foretaste of his reward, — night began to exert 
 its old influence over me ; and, with the strongest 
 determination to think no more of what had been, 
 I closed my eyes but to let in the past. I might 
 have said, that my true sleep was during the la- 
 bours of the day ; and my waking, when I lay, with 
 my senses sealed, upon my bed of leaves. 
 
 It is impossible to shut up the mind ; and I at 
 last abandoned the struggle. The spell of indo- 
 lence once broken, I became as restless as an eagle 
 in a cage. My first object was to discover on what 
 corner of the land I was thrown. Nothing could 
 be briefer than the circuit of my island, and no- 
 thing less explanatory. It was one of those little 
 alluvial spots that grow round the first rock that 
 catches the vegetation swept down by rivers. 
 Ages had gone by, while reed was bound to reed, 
 and one bed of clay laid upon another. The ocean 
 had thrown up its pebbles on the shore ; the wind 
 had sown tree and herb on the naked sides of the 
 tall rock ; the tree had drawn the cloud, and from 
 its roots let loose the spring. Cities and empires 
 perished while this little island was forming into 
 loveliness. Thus nature perpetually builds, while 
 decay does it work with the pomps of man. 
 
 From the shore I saw but a long line of yellow
 
 SALATHIEL. 237 
 
 sand across a broad belt of blue waters. No sight 
 on earth could less attract the eye, or be less indi- 
 cative of man and the delights of civilised life. 
 
 Yet, within that sandy barrier, what wild and 
 wondrous acts were doing and to be done ! My 
 mind, with a wing that no sorrow or bondage 
 could tame, passed over the desert, and saw the 
 battle, the siege, the bloody sedition, the long and 
 heart-broken banishment, the fierce conflict of pas- 
 sions irrestrainable as the tempest, the melancholy 
 ruin of my country by a judgment powerful as fate, 
 and dreary and returnless as the grave. 
 
 But the waters between me and that shore 
 were an obstacle that no vigour of imagination 
 could overcome. I was too feeble to attempt the 
 passage by swimming. The opposite coast ap- 
 peared to be uninhabited, and the few fishing- 
 boats that passed lazily along this lifeless coast, 
 evidently shunned the island, as I conceived, from 
 some hidden shoal. I felt myself a prisoner, and 
 the thought irritated me. * That ancient disturb- 
 ance of my mind, which rendered it so keenly ex- 
 citable, was born again ; I felt its coming, and 
 knew that my only resource was to escape from 
 this circumscribing paradise, that was become 
 my dungeon. Day after day I paced the shore.
 
 238 SALATHIEL. 
 
 awaking the echoes with my useless shouts, as each 
 distant sail glided along close to the saniy line 
 that was to me the unattaic ible path of happiness. 
 I made signals from the hill ; but I might as 
 ■well have summoned the vultures to stop, as they 
 flew screaming above my head to feed on the relics 
 of the Syrian caravans. 
 
 What trifles can sometimes stand between man 
 and enjoyment ! Wisdom would have thanked 
 Heaven for the hope of escaping the miseries of 
 life in the little enchanted round, guarded by that 
 entrenchment of waters, filled with every produc- 
 tion that could delight the sense, and giving to 
 the spirit weary of all that the world could offfer, 
 the gentle retirement in which it could gather its 
 remaining strength, and make its peace with 
 Heaven. 
 
 I was lying, during a fiery noon, on the edge of 
 the island, looking towards the opposite coast, the 
 only object on which I could now bear to look ; 
 when in the stillness of the hour I heard a strange 
 mingling of distant sounds ; yet so totally indis- 
 tinct, that after long listening I could conjecture 
 it to be nothing but the ripple of the water. 
 
 It died away. But it haunted me ; I heard it 
 in fancy. It followed me in the twilight, when
 
 SALATIIIEL. 239 
 
 earth and heaven were soft and silent as an infant's 
 sleep — when the very spirit of tranquillity seemed 
 to be folding- his dewy wings over the world. 
 
 Wearied more with thought than with the daily 
 toil that I imposed on myself for its cure, I had 
 lain down on my bed of turf under the shelter of 
 those thick-woven boughs that scarcely let in the 
 glimpses of the moon. The memory of all whom 
 later chances brought in my path, passed before 
 me ; — the fate of my gallant kinsmen in Masada ; 
 of the wily Tshmaelite ; of the pirate captain ; of 
 that unhappy crew whose danger was my involun- 
 tary deed ; of my family, scattered upon the face 
 of the world, Arcturus, bending towards the 
 horizon, told me that it was midnight ; when my 
 reverie was broken by the same sounds that had 
 disturbed my day. 
 
 But they now came full and distinct. I heard 
 the crashing of heavy axles along the road, the 
 measured tramp of cavalry, the calls of the clarion 
 and trumpet. They seemed beside me. I started 
 from my bed ; but all around was still. I gazed 
 across the waters. They were lying, like another 
 sky, reflecting star for star with the blue immen- 
 sity above ; but on them was no living thing. 
 
 I had heard of phantom armies traversing the
 
 240 SALATHIEL. 
 
 air; but the sky was serene as crystal, I climbed 
 the hill, upon whose summit I recollected to have 
 seen the ruins of an altar ; gathered the weeds, 
 and lighted a beacon. The flame threw a wide 
 and ruddy reflection on the waters and the sky. 
 I watched by it till morn. But the sound had 
 died as rapidly as it came ; and when with the 
 first pearly tinge of the east the coast shaped 
 itself beneath my eye, I saw with bitter disappoint- 
 ment but the same solitary sand. 
 
 The idea of another day of suspense was in- 
 tolerable. I returned to my place of refuge, gave 
 it that glance of mingled feeling, without which 
 perhaps no man leaves the shelter which he is 
 never to see again ; collected a few fruits for my 
 sustenance if I should reach the shore of Pales- 
 tine, and, with a resolution to perish, if it so 
 pleased Providence, but not to return, plunged 
 into the sea. 
 
 The channel was even broader than 1 had cal- 
 culated by the eye. My limbs were still en- 
 feebled ; but my determination was strength. I 
 was swept by the cuiTent far from the opposite 
 curve of the shore, yet its force spared mine ; and 
 at length I felt the ground under my feet. I was 
 overjoyed; though never was scene less fitted for
 
 SALATHIEL. 241 
 
 joy. To the utmost verge of the view, spread the 
 desert; a sullen herbless waste, glowing like a 
 sheet of brass in the almost vertical sun. 
 
 But I was on land. I had accomplished my 
 purpose. Hope, the power of exertion, the 
 chances of the glorious future, were before me. I 
 was no longer a prisoner within the borders of a 
 spot, which for the objects of manly life might as 
 well have been my grave. 
 
 I journeyed on in the direction of Masada ; there 
 at least I should be no fugitive. Yet, what fear- 
 ful reverses, in this time of confusion, might not 
 have occurred even there t what certainty could I 
 have of being spared the bitterest losses, when 
 sorrow and slaughter reigned through the land ? 
 Was I to be protected from the storm that fell 
 with such promiscuous fury upon all ? I too, the 
 marked, the victim, the example to mankind ! — I 
 looked wistfully back to the isle, that isle of 
 oblivion ! 
 
 While I was pacing the shore, that actually 
 scorched my feet, I heard a cry of alarm, and saw 
 on a low range of sand-hills, at some distance, a 
 figure making violent gestures. Friend or enemy, 
 at least here was man ; and I did not deeply care 
 for the consequences even of meeting man in his 
 worst shape. My life was not worth the taking. 
 VOL. II. L
 
 242 SALATHIEL. 
 
 Hung-er and thirst might be more formidable 
 enemies in the end ; and I advanced towards the 
 half-naked savage, who, however, ran down from 
 the hill, crying out louder than ever. I dragg-ed 
 my weary limbs after him, and reached the edge 
 of a little dell, in which stood a circle of tents. 
 
 I had fallen among the robbers of the desert ; 
 but there was evident confusion in this fragment 
 of a tribe. The camels were in the act of being 
 loaded ; men and women were gathering their 
 household utensils with the haste of terror ; and 
 dogs, sheep, camels, and children, set up their 
 voices in a general clamour. 
 
 Dreading that I might lose my only chance of 
 refreshment and guidance, I cried out with all my 
 might, and ran down towards them ; but the sight 
 of me raised an universal scream ; and every 
 living thing took flight, the warriors of the colony 
 gallantly leading the way with a speed that soon 
 left the pedestrians far in the rear. But their 
 invader conquered only for food. I entered the 
 first of the deserted tents, and indulged myself 
 with a full feast of bread, dry and rough as the 
 sand on which it was baked, and of water only 
 less bitter than that through which I had swum. 
 But all luxury is relative. To me they were 
 both delicious, and I thanked at once the good
 
 SALATHIEL. 243 
 
 fortune which had provided so prodigally for those 
 withered monarchs of the sands, and had invested 
 me with the salutary terror that gave the fruits of 
 triumph without the toil. 
 
 At the close of my feast I uttered a few custo- 
 mary words of thanksgiving. A cry of joy rang in 
 my ears ; I looked round ; saw, to my surprise, a 
 bale of carpets walk forward from a corner of the 
 tent, and heard a Jewish tongue, imploring for 
 life and freedom. I rapidly developed the speaker ; 
 and from this repulsive coverture came forth one 
 of the loveliest young females that I had ever 
 seen. Her story was soon told. She was the 
 grand-daughter of Ananus, the late high-priest, 
 one of the most distinguished of his nation for 
 every lofty quality ; but he had fallen on evil days. 
 His resistance to faction sharpened the dagger 
 against him, and he perished in one of the merci- 
 less feuds of the city. His only descendant was 
 sent to claim the protection of her relatives in the 
 south of Judea. But her escort was dispersed by 
 an attack of the Arabs, and in the division of the 
 spoil, the Sheik of this little encampment obtained 
 her as his share. 
 
 The robber-merchant was on his way to Cesarea 
 to sell his prize to the Roman governor, when my 
 arrival put his army to the rout. To my inquiry
 
 244 SALATHIEL. 
 
 into the cause of this singular success, the fair girl 
 answered, that the Arabs had taken rae for a 
 supernatural visitant, " probably come to claim 
 some account of their proceedings in the late 
 expedition." They had been first startled by the 
 blaze in the island, which, from a wild tradition, 
 was supposed to be. the dwelling of forbidden 
 beings. The passage of the channel was seen, 
 and increased the wonder ; my daring to appear 
 alone among men whom mankind shunned, com- 
 pleted the belief of my more than mortal prowess ; 
 and the Arabs' courage abandoned a contest, in 
 which " the least that could happen to them was 
 to be swept into the ocean, or tost piecemeal upon 
 the winds." 
 
 To prevent the effects of their returning intre- 
 pidity, no time was to be lost in our escape. But 
 the sun, which would have scorched anything but 
 a lizard or a Bedoween to death, kept us pri- 
 soners until evening. We were actively employed 
 in the mean while. The plunder of the horde 
 was examined with the curiosity that makes one 
 of the indefeasible qualities of the fair in all 
 climates ; and the young Jewess had not been an 
 inmate of the tent, nor possessed the brightest 
 eyes among the daught rs of women, for nothing. 
 
 With an air between play and revenge, she
 
 SALATHIEL. 245 
 
 hunted out every recess in which even the art of 
 Arah thievery could dispose of its produce ; and at 
 length rooted up from a hole in the very darkest 
 corner of the tent, that precious deposit for which 
 the Sheik would have sacrificed all mankind, and 
 even the last hair of his beard — a bag of shekels. 
 She danced with exultation, as she poured its 
 shining contents on the ground before me. 
 
 " If ever Arab regretted his capture," said she, 
 "this most unlucky of Sheiks shall have cause. 
 But I shall teach him at least one virtue — repent- 
 ance to the last hour of his life. I think that I 
 see him at this moment frightened into a philo- 
 sopher, and wishing from the bottom of his soul 
 that he had, for once, resisted the temptations of 
 his trade." 
 
 "But what will you do with the money, my 
 pretty teacher of virtue to Arabs?" 
 
 " Give it to my preserver," said she, advancing, 
 with a look suddenly changed from sportiveness to 
 blushing timidity ; " give it to him who was sent 
 by Providence to rescue a daughter of Israel from 
 the hands of Pagans." 
 
 In the emotion of gratitude to me there was 
 mingled a loftier feeling, never so lovely as in 
 youth and woman ; she threw up a single glance
 
 246 SALATHIEL. 
 
 to heaven, and a tear of piety and gratitude filled 
 her sparkling eye. 
 
 •* But, temptress and teacher at once, by what 
 right am I to seize on the Sheik's treasury 1 May 
 it not diminish ray supernatural dignity with the 
 tribe, to be known as a plunderer ?" 
 
 " Ha 1" said she, with a rosy smile ; " who is 
 to betray you but your accomplice? Besides, 
 money is reputatiou and innocence, wisdom and 
 virtue, all over the world. Be rich, and mankind 
 are too rational to inquire how you became the 
 happy possessor of that which mankind worship in 
 their soul. But li&ten, and let us state the case 
 fairly." 
 
 Touching with the tip of one slender finger my 
 arm as it lay folded over my bosom, she waved the 
 other band in attitudes of untaught persuasion. 
 
 " Is it not true," pleaded the pretty creature, 
 " that next to a crime of our own, is the being a 
 party to the crime of others? Now, for what con- 
 ceivable purpose could the Arab have collected 
 this money ? Not for food or clothing ; for he can 
 eat thistles with his own mule, and nature has 
 furnished him with clothing as she has furnished 
 the bear. The alhaik is only an encumbrance to 
 his impenetrable skin. What then can he do
 
 SALATHIEL. 247 
 
 with money but mischief, fit out new expedi- 
 tions, and capture other fair maidens, who cannot 
 hope to find spirits good or bad for their pro- 
 tectors ? If we leave him the means of evil, what 
 is it but doing the evil ourselves ? So," concluded 
 this resistless pleader, carefully gathering up the 
 spoil, and putting it into my hand, " I have gained 
 my cause, and have now only to thank my most 
 impartial judge for his patient hearing." 
 
 There is a spell in woman. No man, not utterly 
 degraded, can listen without delight to the accents 
 of the guileless heart Beauty, too, has a natural 
 power over the mind ; and it is right that this 
 should be. All that overcomes selfishness, the 
 besetting sin of the world, is an instrument of 
 good. Beauty is but melody of a higher kind ; and 
 both alike soften the troubled and hard nature of 
 man. Even if we looked on lovely woman but as 
 on a rose, an exquisite production of the summer 
 hours of life, it would be idle to deny her influence 
 in making even those summer hours sweeter. 
 
 But, as the companion of the mind, as the very 
 model of a friendship that no chance can shake, as 
 the pleasant sharer of the heart of heart, the being 
 to whom man returns after the tumult of the day, 
 like the worshipper to a secret shrine, to revive 
 his nobler tastes and virtues at a source pure from
 
 248 SALATHIEL. 
 
 the evil of the external world, and glowing with a 
 perpetual light of sanctity and love ; where shall 
 we find her equal l or what must be our feeling 
 towards the mighty Disposer of earth and all that 
 it inhabit, but of admiration and gratitude to that 
 disposal which thus combines our highest happi- 
 ness with our purest virtue !
 
 SA LATHI EL. 249 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The evening- came at last; the burning- calm 
 was followed by a breeze breathing- of life ; and on 
 the sky sailed, as if it were wafted by that gentle 
 breeze, the evening- star. The lifeless silence of 
 the desert began to be broken by a variety of 
 sounds, wild and sad enough in themselves, but 
 softening by distance, and not ill suited to that 
 declining hour which is so natural an emblem of 
 the decline of life. The moaning of the shepherd's 
 horn ; the low of the folding herds ; the long, deep 
 cry of the camel ; even the scream of the vulture 
 wheeling home from the corpse left by some recent 
 wreck on the shore ; and the howl of the jackall 
 venturing out on the edge of dusk, came with no 
 unpleasing melancholy upon the wind.
 
 250 SALATHIEL. 
 
 We stood gazing impatiently from the tent-door 
 at the west, that still glowed like a furnace of 
 molten gold. 
 
 " Will that sun never go down ?" said I. " We 
 must wait his leisure ; and he seems determined 
 to tantalize us." 
 
 " Yes ; like a rich old man determined to try 
 the patience of his heirs ; and more tenacious of 
 his wealth, the more his powers of enjoyment de- 
 cay." 
 
 " Philosophy from those young lips ! Yet, the 
 desert is the place for a philosopher." 
 
 " That I deny," said my sportive companion. 
 "Philosophy is good for nothing, where it has 
 nothing to ridicule, and where it will be neither 
 fed nor flattered. Its true place is the world ; as 
 much as the true place of yonder falcon is where- 
 ever it can find any thing to pounce upon. Here 
 your philosopher must labour for himself, and 
 laugh at himself; an indulgence in which he is 
 the most temperate of men. In short, he is fit 
 only for the idle, gay, ridiculous, and timid world. 
 The desert is the soil for a much nobler plant. If 
 you would train a poet into flower, set him here." 
 
 " Or a plunderer." 
 
 " No doubt. — They are sometimes much the 
 same."
 
 SALATHIEL. 251 
 
 ** But the desert produces nothing — but Arabs." 
 
 " There are some minds even among Arabs : 
 and some of their rhapsodies are beauty itself. 
 The very master of this tent, who fought and 
 killed, I dare not say how many, to secure so pre- 
 cious a prize as myself; and who, after all his 
 heroism, would have sold me into slavery for life, 
 spent half his evenings sitting at this door, chant- 
 ing to every star of heaven, and rhyming, with 
 tears in his eyes, to all kinds of tender remem- 
 brances." 
 
 " But he was a genius, a heaven-born accident; 
 and his merit was the more in being a genius in 
 the midst of such a scene." 
 
 " No — every thing round us this hour is poetry. 
 The silence — those broken sounds that m.ake the 
 silence more striking as they decay — those fiery 
 continents of cloud, the empire of that greatest 
 of sheiks the sun, lord of the red desert of the air 
 — the immeasurable desert below ! Vastness, ob- 
 scurity, and terror, the three spirits that work the 
 profoundest wonders of the poet, are here in their 
 native region. And now," she said, with a look 
 that showed there were other spells than poetry to 
 be found in the desert, " to release you, I know 
 by signs infallible that the sun is setting." 
 
 I could not avoid laughing at the mimic wisdom
 
 252 SALATHIEL. 
 
 with which she announced her discovery ; and 
 asked whence she had acquired the faculty of 
 solving such rare problems. 
 
 " Oh, by my incomparable knowledge of the 
 stars." She pointed to the eastern sky, on which 
 they began to cluster in showers of diamond. " I 
 have to thank the desert for it ; and," she added 
 with a slight submission of voice, " for every 
 thing. — I am a daughter of the desert ; the first 
 sight that I saw was a camel ; my early, my only 
 accomplishments were, to ride, sing Bedoween 
 songs, tell Bedoween stories, and tame a young 
 panther. But my history draws to a close. While 
 I was supreme in the graces of a savage ; had 
 learned to sit a dromedary, throw the lance, make 
 alhaiks, and gallop for a week together ; love, re- 
 sistless love, came in my way. The son of the 
 sheik, heir to a hundred quarrels, and ten thousand 
 sheep, goats, and horses, claimed me as his natu- 
 ral prey. T shrank from a husband, even more 
 accomplished than myself; and was meditating 
 how to make my escape, whether into the wilder- 
 ness, or into the bottom of the sea, when a sum- 
 mons came, which, or the money that came with 
 it, the sheik found irresistible. And now, my his- 
 tory is at an end."^ 
 
 " And so," said I, to provoke her to the rest of
 
 SALATHIEL. 253 
 
 her narrative, " your story ends, as usual, with 
 marriage. You, of course, finding that you had 
 nothing to prevent your leaving the desert, took 
 the female resolution of staying in it ; and,[as you 
 might discard the young sheik at your pleasure, 
 refused to have any other human being." 
 
 " Can you think me capable of such a horror?" 
 She stamped her little foot in indignation on the 
 ground ; then turning on me with her flashing eye, 
 penetrated the stratagem at once by my smile. 
 
 " Then, hear the rest. I mounted my drome- 
 dary ; galloped for three days without sleep ; 
 and, at length, saw the towers of Jerusalem — 
 glorious Jerusalem. I passed through crowds that 
 seemed to me a gathering of the world ; streets 
 that astonished me with a thousand strange sights ; 
 and, overwhelmed with magnificence, delight, and 
 fatigue, arrived at a palace, where I was met by a 
 host of half-adoring domestics, and was led to the 
 most venerable and beloved of wise and holy men, 
 who caught me to his heart, called me Naomi, his 
 child, his hope ; and shed tears and blessings on 
 my head, as the sole survivor of his illustrious 
 line." 
 
 The recollection of the good and heroic high- 
 priest was strong with us both ; and in silence I 
 suffered her sorrows to have their way.
 
 254 SALATIIIEL. 
 
 A faint echo of horns and voices roused me. 
 
 " Look to the hills," I exclaimed, as I saw a 
 long black line creeping, like a march of ants, 
 down the side of a distant range of sand. 
 
 " Those are our Arabs," said she, without a 
 change of countenance. " They are, of course, 
 coming to see what the angel or demon who 
 visited them to-day has left in witness of his for- 
 midable presence. But, from what I overheard 
 of their terrors, no Arab will venture near 
 the tents till night; night, the general veil of 
 the iniquities of this pleasant and very wicked 
 world." 
 
 " Yet how shall we traverse the sands on 
 foot?" 
 
 " Forbid it, the spirit of romance. I must see 
 whether the gallantry of the sheik has not provided 
 against that misfortune." She flew into the tent, 
 and, drawing back a curtain, showed me two mares 
 of the most famous breed of Arabia. 
 
 " Here are the Koshlani," said she, with playful 
 malice dancing in her eyes. " I saw them brought 
 in in triumph last night, stolen from the pastures 
 of Achmet ben Ali himself, first horse-stealer and 
 prince of the Bedoweens, who is doubtless by this 
 time half dead of grief at the loss of the two gems 
 of his stud. I heard the achievement told with
 
 SALATHIEL. 255 
 
 great rejoicings ; and a very curious specimen of 
 dexterity it was. Come forth," said she, leading 
 out two beautiful animals, white as milk. " Come 
 forth, you two lovely orphans of the true breed of 
 Solomon ; — princesses with pedigrees that put 
 kings to shame, unless they can go back two 
 thousand years ; birds of the Bedowcen, with 
 wings to your feet, stars for eyes, and ten times 
 the sense of your masters in your little tossing 
 heads." 
 
 She sprang upon her courser, and winded it with 
 the delight of practised skill. The Arabs were 
 now but a few miles off, and in full gallop towards 
 us. I urged her to ride away at once ; but she 
 continued curvetting and mantjeuvring her spirited 
 steed, that, enjoying the free air of the desert 
 after having been shut up so long, threw up its 
 red nostrils in the wind, and bounded like a 
 stag. 
 
 '• A moment yet," said she. " I have not quite 
 done with the Arab. It is certainly bad treatment 
 for his hospitality, to have plundered him of his 
 dinner, his money, and his horses." 
 
 " And of his captive; a loss beyond all repara- 
 tion." 
 
 " I perfectly believe so," was the laughing
 
 256 SALATHIEL. 
 
 answer; " but I have been thinking of making 
 him a reparation, which any Arab on earth would 
 think worth even my charms. I have been con- 
 triving how to make his fortune." 
 
 " By returning his shekels ! " 
 
 " Not a grain of them shall he ever see. No; 
 he shall not have the sorrow to think that he en- 
 tertained only a princess and a philosopher. As a 
 spirit you came, and as a spirit you shall depart ; 
 and he shall have the honour of telling the tale. 
 The national stories of such matters are worn out; 
 he shall have a new one of his own ; and every 
 emir in the kingdoms of Ishmael, through the 
 fiery sands of Ichama; the riverless mountains of 
 Nayd ; Hejoz, the -country of flies and fools ; and 
 Yemen, the land of locusts, lawyers, and mer- 
 chants, will rejoice to have him at his meal. The 
 man's fortune is made ; for there is no access to 
 the heart, like that of being necessary to the din- 
 ners and dulness of the mighty." 
 
 " Or, on the strength of the wonder," said I, 
 " he may make wonders of his own ; turn char- 
 latan of the first magnitude ; profess to cure the 
 incurable, and get solid gold for empty pretension ; 
 sell health to the epicure, gaiety to the old, and 
 charms to the repulsive ; defy the course of na-
 
 SALATHIEL. 257 
 
 ture, and live like a prince upon the exhaustless 
 revenue of human absurdity." 
 
 A cloud of smoke wreathed up from the sheik's 
 tent; fire followed, and even while we looked on, 
 the wind, carrying the burning fragments, set the 
 whole camp in a blaze. The Arabs gave a shriek, 
 and fled back, scattering with gestures and cries 
 of terror through the sands. 
 
 " There — there," said my companion, clapping 
 her delicate white palms in exultation : " let them 
 beware of making women captives in future. In 
 my final visit to the tent, I put a firebrand into the 
 very bundle of carpets in which I played the part 
 of slave." 
 
 " Not to be your representative, I presume." 
 
 " Yes, with only the distinction, that in time I 
 should have been much the more perilous of the 
 two. If that unlucky sheik had dared to keep me 
 a week longer in his detestable tent, I should have 
 raised a rebellion in the tribe, dethroned him, and 
 turned princess on my own account. As to burn- 
 ing him out, there was no remedy. But for those 
 flames, the tribe would have been upon our road. 
 But for those flames, we might even have been 
 mistaken for mere mortals : and your spirits 
 always vanish, as we do, in fire and smoke. How 
 nobly those tents blaze ! Now, forward ! "
 
 258 SALATHIEL. 
 
 She gave the reins to her barb, flung a triumph- 
 ant gesture towards the burning camp, and, under 
 cover of a huge sheet of fiery vapour, we darted 
 into the wilderness.
 
 SALATHIEL. 
 
 259 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 I DIRECTED our flight towards Masada. The 
 stars were brilliant guides ; and the coolness of the 
 Arabian night, which forms so singular a contrast 
 to the overpowering ardours of the day, relieved 
 us from the chief obstacle of desert travel. At 
 day-break we reached a tract near the sea-shore, 
 whose broken and burnt-up ground showed that 
 there had lately encamped the army, the sound of 
 whose march filled my reveries in the island. 
 
 It was evening when I caught the glimpse of 
 the distant mountain of the fortress. My heart 
 bounded fearfully at the sight. An impression of 
 evil was upon me. Yet I must go on, or die. 
 
 " There," said I, " you see my home, and yours, 
 while you desire it. You will find friends, de-
 
 260 SALATHIEL. 
 
 lighted to receive you, and a protection that 
 neither Roman nor Arab can violate. Heaven 
 grant that all may be as when I left Masada!" 
 
 The fair girl gratefully thanked me. 
 
 " 1 have been long," said she, " unused to 
 kindness ; and its voice overpowers me. But, if 
 the duty, the gratitude, the faithful devotedness of 
 the orphan to her generous preserver, can deserve 
 protection, I shall yet have some claim. Suffer 
 me to be your daughter." 
 
 She bowed her head before me with filial re- 
 verence ; I took the outstretched hand, that 
 quivered in mine, and pressed it to my lips. The 
 sacred compact was ratified in the sight of Heaven. 
 More formal treaties have been made, but few 
 sincerer. 
 
 We rapidly advanced to the foot of the ridge 
 that, now defining and extending, showed its well- 
 known features in their rugged grandeur. But, 
 to come in sight of the fortress, I had still one of 
 the huge buttresses of the mountain to round. 
 My companion, with the quick sympathy that makes 
 one of the finest charms of woman, already shared 
 in my ominous fears, and rode by my side without 
 a word. My eyes were fixed on the ground. — I 
 was roused by a clash of warlike music. The 
 suspense was terribly at an end.
 
 SALATHIEL. 261 
 
 The spears of a legion were moving in a glit- 
 tering line down the further declivity. Squadrons 
 of horse in marching order were drawn up on the 
 plain. The baggage of a little army lay under the 
 eye, waiting for the escort of the troops now de- 
 scending from the fortress. The story of my ruin 
 was told in that single glance. All was lost. 
 
 The walls of the citadel, breached in every di- 
 rection, gave signs of a long siege. The White 
 Stag of Naphtali no longer lifted its head in pride 
 on the battlements ; dismantling and desolation 
 were there. But what horrors must have been 
 wrought before the Romans could shake the 
 strength of those walls ! In what grave was I to 
 look for my noble brother and my kinsmen ? Last 
 and most fearful, what had been the fate of Miriam 
 and ray children ! 
 
 Conscious that to stay was to give myself and 
 my trembling companion to the cruel mercy of 
 Rome, I yet v/as unable to leave the spot. I 
 hovered round it as the spirit might hover round 
 the tomb. Maddening with bitter yearnings of 
 heart, that intense eagerness to know the worst, 
 which is next to despair, I spurred up the steep 
 by an obscure path that led me to a postern. 
 
 There was no sound within. 
 
 I dashed through the streets. Not a living
 
 262 SALATHIEL. 
 
 being was to be seen ; piles of fire-wood lighted 
 under the principal buildings and at the gates, 
 showed that the fortress was destined to immediate 
 overthrow. War had done its worst. The broad 
 sanguine plashes on the pavements showed that 
 the battle had been fought long and desperately 
 within the walls. The famous armoury was a heap 
 of ashes. Ditches dug across the streets, and 
 strewed with broken weapons, and the white rem- 
 nants of what once was man ; walls raised within 
 walls, and now broken down ; stately houses loop- 
 holed and turned into little fortresses ; fragments 
 of noble architecture blocking up the breaches ; 
 graves dug in every spot where the spade could 
 open a few feet of ground ; fragments of superb 
 furniture lying half-burnt, where the defenders 
 had been forced out by conflagration ; gave sad 
 evidence of the struggle of brave men against over- 
 powering numbers. 
 
 But where were they, who had made the prize 
 so dear to the conquerors? Was I treading on 
 the clay that once breathed patriotism and love ? 
 Did the wreck on which I leaned, as I gazed round 
 this mighty mausoleum, cover the earthly tene- 
 ment of my kinsmen, and still dearer, the last of 
 my name ? Was I treading on the grave of those 
 gentle and lovely natures, for whose happiness I
 
 SALATHIEL. 263 
 
 would rejoicingly have laid down the sceptre of 
 the world? 
 
 In my agitation I spoke aloud. My voice rang 
 through the solitude round me, and returned on 
 the ear with a startling distinctness. Living- 
 sounds suddenly mingled with the echo. A low 
 groan came from the pile of ruins beside me. I 
 listened, as one might listen for an answer from 
 the sepulchre. The voice was heard again. A 
 few stones from the shattered wall gave way, and 
 I saw thrust out the withered, bony hand of a 
 human being. I tore down the remaining impe- 
 diments, and saw, pale, emaciated, and at the 
 point of death by famine, my friend, my fellow- 
 soldier, my fellow-sufferer, Jubal ! 
 
 Joy is sometimes as dangerous as sorrow. He 
 gave a glance of recognition, struggled forward, 
 and, uttering a wild cry, fell senseless into my 
 arms. On his recovering, before I could ask him 
 the question nearest to my heart, it was answered. 
 "They are safe, all safe," said he. "On the 
 landing of fresh troops from Italy, the first efforts 
 of the legions were directed against this fortress. 
 The pirates, in return for the victory to which you 
 led them, had set me at liberty. I made my way 
 through the enemy's posts ; Eleazar, ever generous 
 and noble, received me, after all my wanderings,
 
 264 SALATHIEL. 
 
 with the heart of a father ; and we determined on 
 defending tiiis glorious trophy of your heroism to 
 the last man. But, with the wisdom that never 
 failed him, he knew what must be the result, and 
 at the very commencement of the siege sent away 
 your family to Alexandria, where they might be 
 secure of protection from our kindred." 
 
 "And they went by sea?" I asked shudder- 
 ingly, while the whole terrible truth dawned upon 
 my mind. 
 
 " It was the only course. The country was 
 filled with the enemy." 
 
 " Then they are lost ! Wretched father, now no 
 father ! — man marked by destiny ! — the blow has 
 fallen at last. They perished — I saw them perish. 
 Their dying shrieks rang in these ears. I was 
 their destroyer. From first to last I have been 
 their undoing !" 
 
 Jubal looked on me with astonishment. My 
 adopted daughter, without any idle attempt at 
 consolation, only bathed my hand in her tears. 
 
 "There must be some misconception here," said 
 Jubal. " Before we left that accursed dungeon, 
 they hadembi.rlvcd with a crowd of females from 
 the surrounding country in one of the annual fleets 
 for Egypt. Before we sailed from the pirate's 
 cavern^ they were probably safe in Alexandria."
 
 SALATHIEL. 265 
 
 " No ! I saw them perish. I heard their dying 
 cry. I drove them, involuntarily but surely drove 
 them, to destruction," was the only voice that my 
 withering lips could utter. I remembered the 
 horrors of the storm ; the desperate efforts of the 
 merchant galley to escape ; its fatal disappearance. 
 Faintly, and with many a reviving agony, I gave 
 the melancholy reasons for my belief. My audi- 
 tors listened with fear and trembling. 
 
 " There is now no use in sorrow," said Jubal 
 sternly, " and as little in struggle. I too have 
 lived till the light that lightened my dreary hours 
 is extinguished. I have known the extremities of 
 passion. If suffering could have atoned for my 
 offences, I have suffered. A thousand years of ex- 
 istence could not teach me more. Here let us 
 die." He unsheathed his poniard. 
 
 " Here let us die!" I exclaimed with him, and 
 my poniard glittered in my hand. 
 
 My young companion, in the anxiety of the 
 moment, forgetting the presence of a stranger, 
 tlung back the veil which had hitherto covered her 
 face and figure, and clasping my half-raised arm, 
 said in a tone, so low, yet penetrating, that it 
 seemed the whispers of my own conscience — 
 
 " Has death no fears '" She fixed her eyes ou 
 me, and waited breathless for the answer. 
 
 VOL. II. M
 
 266 SALATHIEL. 
 
 " Daughter of beauty," said Jubal, as a smile of 
 admiration played on his sad features, " thoughts 
 like ours are not for the lovely and the young. 
 May the Heaven that has stamped that counte- 
 nance be your protection through many a year ! 
 But to the weary rest is happiness, not terror. 
 Prince of Naphtali, this fair maiden's presence for- 
 bids darker thoughts ; we must speed her on her 
 way to security, before we can think of ourselves 
 and our misfortunes." 
 
 " The daughter of Ananus," said she, in a tone 
 of heroic pride, " has no fears. The boldest war- 
 rior of Israel never died more boldly than that vene- 
 rable parent. Within his sacred robes there was 
 the heart of a soldier, a patriot, and a king. Let 
 me die for a cause like his ; at the foot of the altar 
 let my blood be poured out for my country ; let 
 this feeble form sink in the ruins of the Temple; 
 and death will be of all welcome things the most 
 welcome. But I would not die for a fantasy, for 
 idleness, for nothing. Put up those weapons, war- 
 riors, and let us go forth and see whether great 
 things are not yet to be done." 
 
 She significantly pointed towards Jerusalem. 
 
 "It is too late," said Jubal, glancing with a 
 sigh at his own wasted form. 
 
 " What?" said the heroine; " is it too late to
 
 SALATHIEL. 267 
 
 be virtuous, but not too late to be guilty? too late 
 to resist the enemies of our country, but not too 
 late to make ourselves worthless to her holy cause ? 
 If Heaven demands an account of every wasted 
 talent and mispent hour, what fearful account will 
 be theirs who make all talents and all hours useless 
 at a blow I" 
 
 " Maiden, you have not known what it is to lose 
 every thing that made earth a place of hope," said 
 I, gazing with wonder and pity on the fine enthu- 
 siasm that the world is so fatally empowered to 
 destroy. " May not the tired traveller hasten to 
 the end of his journey without a crime ?" 
 
 '• May not the slave," said Jubal, '* weary of 
 his chain, escape unchidden from his captivity V 
 
 " And may not the soldier quit his post, when 
 caprice disgusts him with his duty ?" was the 
 maiden's answer, with a lofty look. " Or may 
 not the child break loose from the place of in- 
 struction, and plead his disgust at discipline ? As 
 well may man, placed here for the service of the 
 highest and most benevolent of beings, plead his 
 own narrow and ignorant will against the supreme 
 command ; daringly charge Heaven with the in- 
 justice of setting him a task above his strength, 
 and madly insult its power under the hollow pre- 
 text of relying on its compassion. — This wisdom
 
 268 SALATHIEL. 
 
 is not my own. It was the last gift of an illus- 
 trious parent, when, in my agony at the sight 
 of his mortal wounds, I longed to follow him. 
 " Live," said he, *' while you can live with virtue. 
 The God who has placed us on earth, best knows 
 when and how to recall us. If self-destruction 
 were no crime in one instance, it would be no 
 crime to universal mankind ; the whole frame of so- 
 ciety would be overthrown by a permission to evade 
 its duties on the easy penalty of dying. Our ob- 
 ligations to country, family, man, and Heaven, 
 would be perpetually flung off, if they were to be 
 iield at the caprice of human insensibility." 
 
 Jubal looked intently on the young oracle ; and, 
 bending with oriental deference, was yet uncon- 
 vinced. " Man was not made to endure, when 
 endurance is useless. Is there to be no end to 
 the mind's anxiety but the tardy decay of the 
 frame ? Is there no time for the return of the 
 exile ? or, what is this very feeling of despair but 
 a voice within — an unwritten command to die !" 
 
 Naomi turned to me, with a look imploring my 
 aid. But I was broken down with the tidings 
 that had just reached me. Jubal wrapped his 
 cloak round him, and was striding into the shadow 
 of the ruin. Naomi, terrified at the idea of death, 
 seized the corner of his mantle. " Will you
 
 SA LATH I EL. 269 
 
 shrink from the evils of life," she adjured, " and 
 yet have the dreadful courage to defy the wrath of 
 Heaven ? Shall worms like us, shall creatures 
 covered with weaknesses and sins, whose only hope 
 must be in mercy, commit a crime that by its very 
 nature disclaims supplication, and makes repent- 
 ance impossible V 
 
 With the energy of fear, she threw back the 
 folds of the cloak, and arrested the hand, with the 
 dagger already unsheathed in it. She led back 
 the reluctant, yet unresisting step of the suicide, 
 and said, in a voice still trembling : " Prince of 
 Naphtali, save your brother!" I held out my 
 arms to Jubal ; the sternness of his soul was past, 
 and he fell upon my neck. Naomi stood, exult- 
 ing in her triumph, with the countenance that an 
 angel might wear at the return of a sinner. 
 
 " Prince of Naphtali," said she, " if those who 
 were dear to you have perished, which Heaven 
 avert ! you may have been thus but the more 
 marked out for the instrument of solemn uses to 
 Israel. The virtues that might have languished 
 in the happiness of home, may be summoned into 
 vigour for mankind. Warrior," and she turned 
 her glowing smile on Jubal, " this is not the time 
 for valour and experience to shrink from the side 
 of our country. Faction may be repelled by pa-
 
 270 SALATHIEL. 
 
 triotism ; violence put down by wisdom ; the pow- 
 ers of the people roused by the example of a hero ; 
 even the last spark of life may be made splendid 
 by mingling with the last glories of the chosen 
 people of God." 
 
 Jubal's wasted cheek reddened with the theme ; 
 but his emotion was too deep for language. He led 
 the way ; we passed in silence through the silent 
 streets; and, without seeing the face of a human 
 being, reached the dismantled gates of Masada.
 
 SALATHIEL. 271 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 JuBAL guided us down the declivities among- 
 ramparts and trenches ; and after long windings, 
 where every step reminded us of havoc, brought 
 us to a little hamlet in the recesses of the valley, 
 so secluded, that it seemed never to have heard 
 the sound of war. 
 
 The thunder of the falling masses of fortificatioa 
 as the fire reached their props, awoke me soon 
 after midnight ; and I arose and tasted the deli- 
 cious air that makes the summer night of Asia the 
 time of refreshing aiike to the frame and to the 
 mind. I found Jubal already abroad, and gazing 
 on the summit of the mountain, where the sullen 
 glare of the sky, and the crash of buildings, showed
 
 272 SALATHIEL. 
 
 that the work of devastation was rapidly going 
 on. 
 
 He gave me some of the details of the siege. 
 The Romans had found the fortress so hazardous 
 to the advance of their reinforcements, that its 
 possession was essential to the conquest of Judea. 
 Cestius, my old antagonist, solicited the command, 
 to wipe off his disgrace ; and the whole force of 
 the legions was brought up. But the generalship 
 of Eleazar, and the intrepidity of the garrison 
 baffled every assault, with tremendous loss to the 
 enemy. The siege was next turned into a block- 
 ade. Famine and disease were more formidable 
 than the sword ; and the brave defenders were 
 reduced to a number scarcely able to man the 
 walls. 
 
 " We now," said Jubal, " fought the battle of 
 despair : we saw the enemy's camp crowded every 
 day with fresh troops, and the provisions of the 
 ■whole country brought among them in lavish pro- 
 fusion, while we had not a morsel to eat, while our 
 fountains ran dry, and our few troops were harassed 
 with mortal fatigue. Yet no man thought of sur- 
 render. Eleazar's courage, — a courage sustained 
 by higher thoughts than those of the soldier, the 
 fortitude of piety and prayer, — inspired us all ;
 
 SALATHIEL. 273 
 
 and we went to our melancholy duties with the 
 calmness of those to whom the grave was inevit- 
 able. 
 
 ** At last, when our reduced numbers gave the 
 enemy a hope of overpowering the defence, we 
 were attacked by their whole force. But, if they 
 expected to conquer us at their ease, never were 
 men more deceived. When the walls gave way 
 before their machines, they were fought from 
 street to street, from house to house, from cham- 
 ber to chamber. Eleazar, active as wise, was 
 everywhere ; we fought in ruins — in fire. Multi- 
 tudes of the enemy perished ; and more deaths were 
 given by the knife than the spear; for our arms 
 were long since exhausted. The last eflPort was made 
 on the spot were you found me. When every de- 
 fence was mastered by the perpetual supply of fresh 
 troops, Eleazar, passing through the subterranean 
 to attack the Roman rear, left me in command of 
 the few that survived. We intrenched ourselves 
 in the armoury. For three days we fought, with- 
 out tasting food, without an hour's sleep, without 
 laying the weapons out of our hands. At length 
 the final assault was given. In the midst of it we 
 heard shouts which told us that our friends had 
 made the concerted attack ; but we were too few 
 and feeble to second it. The shouts died away —
 
 274 SA LATHI EL. 
 
 we were overpowered ; and my first sensation of 
 returning life was the combined agony of famine, 
 wounds, and suffocation, under the ruins that I 
 then thought ray living grave." 
 
 " By dawn," said I, "we must set out for 
 Jerusalem." 
 
 " It has been closely invested for the last three 
 months ; and famine and faction are doing their 
 worst within the walls. Titus is without, at the 
 head of a hundred thousand of the legionaries and 
 allies. To enter will be next to impossible ; and 
 when once entered, what will be before you but 
 the madness of civil discord, and finally, death by 
 the hands of an enemy utterly infuriated against 
 our nation?" 
 
 " To Jerusalem, at all risks ; my fate is mingled 
 with that of the last stronghold of our fallen peo- 
 ple. What matters it to one whose roots of hap- 
 piness are cut up like mine, in what spot he strug- 
 gles with man and fortune? As a son of Judea my 
 powers are due to her cause, and every drop of 
 my blood shed for any other would be treason to 
 the memory of my fathers. The dawn finds me 
 on my way to Jerusalem." 
 
 "It is spoken like a prince of Naphtali ; but 
 I must not follow you. The course of glory is cut 
 off for me; unless something may still be done
 
 SALATHIEL. 275 
 
 by collectinp^ the fugitives of the tribes, and ha- 
 rassing the Roman communications. But Jeru- 
 salem, though every stone of her walls is precious 
 to my soul, must not receive my guilty steps. I 
 have horrid recollections of things seen and done 
 there. My mind is still too full of the impulses 
 that drove it to frenzy. Ouias, that wily hypo- 
 crite, will be there to fill me with visions of terror. 
 There too are — others." He was silent; but 
 suddenly resuming his firmness, " I have no hos- 
 tility to Constantius ; I even honour and esteem 
 him ; but my spirit is still too feverish to bear his 
 presence. I must live and die far from all that 
 I have ever known." 
 
 He hid his face in his mantle ; but the agitation 
 of his form showed more than clamorous grief. 
 He walked forth into the darkness. I was igno- 
 rant of his purpose, and lingered long for his 
 return. But I saw him no more. 
 
 Disturbed and pained by his loss, I had scarcely 
 thrown myself on the cottage floor, my only bed, 
 when I was roused by the cries of the village. A 
 detachment of Roman cavalry marching for Jeru- 
 salem had entered, and was taking up its quar- 
 ters for the night. The peasantry could make 
 no resistance, and attempted none. I had only
 
 276 SALATHIEL. 
 
 time to call to my adopted daughter to rise, 
 when our hut was occupied, and we were made 
 prisoners. 
 
 This was an unexpected blow ; yet it was one 
 to which, on second thoughts, I was reconciled. 
 In the disturbed state of the country, travelling 
 was totally insecure ; and even to obtain a con- 
 veyance of any kind was a matter of extreme 
 difficulty. The roving plunderers that hovered 
 in the train of the camp were, of all plunderers, 
 the most merciless. By falling into the hands 
 of the legionaries, we were at least sure of an 
 escort ; I might obtain some useful information 
 of their affairs, and, once in sight of the city, 
 might escape from the Roman lines with more 
 ease as a prisoner, than I could pass them as an 
 enemy. 
 
 The cavalry moved at day-break ; and before 
 night we saw in the horizon the hills that surround 
 Jerusalem. But we had full evidence of our 
 approach to the centre of struggle, by the devas- 
 tation that follows the track of the best disciplined 
 army ; — groves and orchards cut down ; corn-fields 
 trampled ; cottages burnt; gardens and homesteads 
 ravaged. Further on, we traversed the encamp- 
 ments of the auxiliaries, barbarians of every colour
 
 SALATHIEL. 277 
 
 and language within the limits of the mightiest of 
 empires. 
 
 To the soldier of civilised nations war is a new 
 state of existence. To the soldier of barbarism 
 war is but a more active species of his daily life. 
 It requires no divorce from his old habits, and 
 even encourages his old objects, cares, and plea- 
 sures. We found the Arab, the German, the 
 Scythian, and the Ethiop, hunting, carousing, 
 trafficking, and quarrelling, as if they had never 
 stirred from their native regions. The hordes 
 brought with them their families, their cattle, and 
 their trade. In the rear of every auxiliary camp 
 was a regular mart, crowded with all kinds of 
 dealers. Through the fields the barbarians were 
 following the sports of home. Trains of falconers 
 were flying their birds at the wild pigeon and 
 heron. Half-naked horsemen were running races, 
 without saddle or rein, on horses wild and swift 
 as the antelope. Groups were lying under the 
 palm-groves asleep, with their spears fixed at their 
 heads; others were seen busy decorating them- 
 selves for battle ; crowds were dancing, gaming, 
 and drinking. 
 
 As we advanced, we could hear the variety of 
 clamours and echoes that belong to barbarian war
 
 278 SALATHIEL. 
 
 — the braying of savage horns, the roars of mirth, 
 rage, and feasting ; the shouts of clans moving up 
 to reinforce the besiegers ; the screams and la- 
 mentations of the innumerable women as the wains 
 and litters brought back the wounded ; the barba- 
 rian bowlings over the hasty grave of some chief- 
 tain ; the ferocious revelry of the discoverers of 
 plunder, and the inextinguishable sorrows of the 
 captives. 
 
 We passed through some miles of this bois- 
 terous and bustling scene, in which even a Roman 
 escort was scarcely a sufficient security. The 
 barbarians thronged round us, brandished their 
 spears over our heads, rode their horses full gallop 
 against us, and exhausted the whole language of 
 scorn, ridicule, and wrath, upon our helpless con- 
 dition. 
 
 But the clamour gradually died away, and we 
 entered upon another region, totally denuded of 
 life and of the means of life ; a zone of silence and 
 solitude interposed between the dangerous riot of 
 barbarism, and the severe regularity of the legions. 
 Far within this circle we reached the Roman 
 camp ; the world of disciplined war. 
 
 The setting sun threw his flame on the long 
 vistas of shield and helmet drawn out, according
 
 SA LATHI EL. 279 
 
 to custom, for the hour of exercise before nightfall. 
 The tribunes were on horseback in front of the 
 cohorts, putting- them through that boundless 
 variety of admirable movements, in which no 
 soldiery were so dexterous as those of Rome. But 
 all was done with characteristic silence. No sound 
 was heard but the measured tramp of the ma- 
 noeuvre, and the voice of the tribune. The sight 
 was at once absorbing to the eye of one, like 
 me, an enthusiast in soldiership, and appalling 
 to the lover of his country. Before me was 
 the great machine, the resistless, living energy, 
 that had levelled the strength of the most re- 
 nowned kingdoms. With the feeling of a man 
 who sees the tempest at hand, in the immedi- 
 ate terror of the bolt, I could yet gaze with won- 
 der and admiration at the grandeur of the thunder- 
 cloud. 
 
 Before me was at once the perfection of power, 
 and the perfection of discipline. Here were no 
 ramblingcrowdsof retainers, no hurrying of troops 
 startled by sudden attack, no military clamours. 
 All was calm, regular, and grand. In a country, 
 the seat of the most furious war ever waged, I 
 might have thought that I saw but a summer camp 
 in an Italian plain. 
 
 As the night fell, the legions saluted the parting
 
 280 SALATHIEL. 
 
 sun with homage, according to a custom which 
 they had learned in their eastern campaigns. 
 Sounds, less of war than of worship, arose ; flutes 
 breathed in low and dulcet harmonies from the 
 lines ; and this iron soldiery, bound on the business 
 of extermination, moved to their tents in the midst 
 of strains made to wrap the heart in softness and 
 solemnity. 
 
 I awoke at sun-rise. But was I in a land of 
 enchantment? I looked for the immense camp: 
 — it had vanished. A few soldiers collecting the 
 prisoners sleeping about the field were all that 
 remained of an army. Our guard explained the 
 wonder. An attack on the trenches, in which the 
 besiegers had been driven in with serious loss, had 
 determined Titus to bring up his whole force. 
 The troops moved with that habitual silence 
 which eluded almost the waking ear. They 
 were now beyond the hills, and the hour was 
 come at which the prisoners were ordered to follow 
 them. 
 
 But where was the daughter of Ananus ? I had 
 placed her in a tent with some captive females of 
 our nation. The tent was struck, and its inmates 
 were gone. On the spot where it stood, a flock of 
 sheep were already grazing, with a Roman soldier 
 leaning drowsily on his spear for their shepherd.
 
 SALATHIEL. 281 
 
 To what alarms might not this fair girl be 
 exposed? Dubious and distressed, I followed the 
 guard in the hope of discovering the fate of an 
 innocent and lovely child, who seemed, like my- 
 self, marked for misfortune. 
 
 In this march we went almost the whole circuit 
 of the hills surrounding Jerusalem ; and I thus had 
 for three days the opportunity that I longed for, of 
 seeing the nature of the force with which we were 
 to contend. The troops were admirably armed. 
 There was nothing for superfluity ; yet those who 
 conceived the system, knew the value of show ; and 
 the equipments of the officers were superb. The 
 helmets, cuirasses, and swords, were frequently 
 inlaid with the precious metals ; and the superior 
 officers rode richly caparisoned chargers, purchased 
 at an enormous price from the finest studs of 
 Europe and Asia. The common soldier was proud 
 of the brightness of his shield and hehnet : on 
 duty both were covered ; but on their festivals, 
 the most cheering moment was when the order 
 was given to uncase their arms. Then, nothing 
 could be more beautiful than the aspect of the 
 legion. 
 
 One striking source of its pomp was the multitude 
 of banners. Every emblem that mythology could
 
 282 SALATHIEL. 
 
 feign, every animal, every memorial connected 
 with the history of soldiership and Rome, glit- 
 tered above the forest of spears ; gilded serpents, 
 wolves, lions, gods, genii, stars, diadems, impe- 
 rial busts, and the eagle paramount over all, 
 were mingled with vanes of purple and embroidery. 
 The most showy pageant of civil life was dull and 
 colourless to the crowded magnificence of the 
 Roman line. 
 
 Their system of manoeuvre gave this magnifi- 
 cence its full development. With the modern 
 armies the principle is the avoidance of fire. With 
 the ancient armies the principle was the concentra- 
 tion of force. All was done by impulse. The 
 figure by which the greatest weight could be driven 
 against the enemy's ranks, was the secret of vic- 
 tory. The subtlety of Italian imagination en- 
 lightened by Greek science, and fertilised by the 
 experience of universal war, was occupied in the 
 discovery ; and the field exercise of the legions 
 displayed every form into which troops could be 
 thrown. 
 
 The Romans always sought to fight pitched 
 battles. They left the minor services to their 
 allies; and haughtily reserved themselves for the 
 master-strokes by which empires are lost or won.
 
 SALATHIEL. 283 
 
 The humbler hostilities, the obscure skirmishings 
 and surprises, they disdained ; observing- that, 
 while " to steal upon men was the work of a thief, 
 and to butcher them was the habit of a barbarian, 
 to fight them was the act of a soldier."
 
 284 SALATHIEL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 At the close of a weary day we reached our 
 final station, upon the hill Scopas, seven furlongs 
 from Jerusalem. Bitter memory was busy with 
 me there. From the spot on which I flung myself 
 in heaviness of heart, huddled among a crowd of 
 miserable captives, and wishing only that the 
 evening gathering over me might be my last, I 
 had once looked upon the army of the oppressors 
 marching into my toils, and exulted in the secure 
 glories of myself and my country. 
 
 But the prospect now beneath the eye showed 
 only the fiery track of invasion. The pastoral 
 beauty of the plain was utterly gone. The innu- 
 merable garden-houses and summer-dwellings of 
 the Jewish nobles, gleaming in every variety of
 
 SALATHIEL. 285 
 
 graceful architecture, among- vineyards and depths 
 of aromatic foliage, were levelled to the ground ; 
 and the gardens turned into a sandy waste, cut up 
 by trenches and military works in every direction. 
 In the midst rose the great Roman rampart, which 
 Titus, in despair of conquering the city by the 
 sword, drew round it to extinguish its last hope of 
 provisions or reinforcements ; a hideous boundary, 
 within which all was to be the sepulchre. 
 
 I saw Jerusalem only in her expiring struggle. 
 Others have given the history of that most memo- 
 rable siege. My knowledge was limited to the 
 last hideous days of an existence Ions: declinino- 
 and finally extinguished in horrors beyond the 
 imagination of man. 
 
 I knew her follies, her ingratitude, her crimes ; 
 but the love of the city of David was deep in my 
 soul ; her lofty privileges, the proud memory of 
 those who had made her courts glorious, the sage, 
 the soldier, and the prophet, lights of the world 
 to Mhich the boasted illumination of the heathen 
 was darkness, filled my spirit with an immortal 
 homage. I loved her then — I love her still. 
 
 To mingle my blood with that of my perishing 
 country was the first wish of my heart. But I 
 was under the rigour of the confinement inflicted 
 on the Jewish prisoners. My rank was known;
 
 286 SALATHIEL. 
 
 aud while it produced offers of new distinction 
 from my captors, it increased their vigilance. To 
 every temptation I gave the same denial, and 
 occupied my hours in devices for escape. In the 
 meanwhile, I saw with terror that the wall of 
 circumvallation was closing ; and that a short 
 period must place an impassable barrier between 
 me and the city. 
 
 After a day of anxious gazing on the progress 
 of this wall of destiny, I was aroused at midnight 
 by the roaring of one of those tempests which 
 sometimes break in so fiercely upon an eastern 
 summer. The lightning struck the old tower in 
 which I was confined, and I found myself riding 
 on a pile of ruins. Escape, in the midst of a 
 Roman camp, seemed as remote as ever. But 
 the storm which shook solid walls, made its way 
 at will among tents, and the whole encampment 
 was broken up. A column of infantry passed 
 where I was extricating myself from the ruins. 
 They were going to reinforce the troops in the 
 trenches against the chance of an attack during 
 the tempest. I followed them. The night was 
 terrible. The lightning that blazed with frightful 
 vividness, and then left the sky to tenfold obscu- 
 rity, led us through the lines. The column was 
 too late, and it found the besieged already mounted
 
 SALATHIEL. 287 
 
 upon the wall of circumvallation, and flinging it 
 down in huge fragments. The assault and de- 
 fence were alike desperate. The night grew 
 pitchy dark, and the only evidence that men were 
 round me, was the clang of arms. 
 
 A sudden flash showed me that I had reached 
 the foot of the rampart. The besieged, carried 
 away by their native impetuosity, poured down in 
 crowds. Their leader, cheering them on, was 
 struck by a lance, and fell. The sight rallied the 
 enemy. I felt that now or never was the moment 
 for my escape. I rushed in front, and called out 
 my name. At the voice the wounded leader 
 uttered a cry which I well knew. I caught him 
 from the ground. A gigantic centurion darted 
 forwarr], and grasped my robe. Embarrassed 
 with my burden, I was on the point of being 
 dragged back ; the centurion's sword glittered 
 over my head. With my only weapon, a stone, I 
 struck him a furious blow on the forehead. The 
 sword fell from his grasp ; I seized it, and keep- 
 ing the rest at bay, and in the midst of shouts 
 from my countrymen, leaped the trench, with 
 the nobler trophy in my arms. I had rescued 
 Constantius ! 
 
 Jerusalem was now verging on the last horrors. 
 I could scarcely find my way through her ruins.
 
 288 SALATHIEL. 
 
 The noble buildings were destroyed by conflagra- 
 tion, or the assaults of the various factions. The 
 monuments of our kings and tribes were lying in 
 mutilation at my feet. Every man of former 
 eminence was gone. Massacre and exile were 
 the masters of the higher ranks; and even the 
 accidental distinctions into which the humbler in 
 birth or opulence were thrown by the few past 
 years, involved a fearful purchase of public ha- 
 zard. Like men in an earthquake, the elevation 
 of each was only a sign to him of the working of 
 an irresistible principle of ruin. But the most 
 formidable characteristic was the change wrought 
 upon the popular mind. 
 
 A single revolution may be a source of public 
 good ; but a succession of great political changes 
 is fatal alike to public and private virtue. The 
 sense of honour dies, in the fierce pressures of 
 personal struggle. Humanity dies, in the sight 
 of hourlv violences. Conscience dies, in the con- 
 flict where personal safety is so often endangered, 
 that its preservation at length usurps the entire 
 mind. Religion dies, where the religious man is 
 so often the victim of the unprincipled. Violence 
 and vice are soon found to be the natural instru- 
 ments of triumph in a war of the passions ; and 
 the more relentless atrocitv carries the dav, until
 
 SALATHIEL. 289 
 
 selfishness, the mother of treachery, rapine, and 
 carnag-e, is the paramount principle. Then the 
 nation perishes, or is sent forth in madness and 
 misery, an ohject of terror and infection, to propa- 
 gate evil through the world. 
 
 The very features of the popular physiognomy 
 were changed. The natural vividness of the 
 countenance was there, but hardened and clouded 
 by habitual ferocity. I was surrounded by a mul- 
 titude, in each of whom I was compelled to see 
 the assassin. The keen eye scowled with cruelt}^ ; 
 the cheek wore the alternate flush and paleness of 
 desperate thoughts. The hurried gatherings — 
 the quick quarrel — the loud blasphemy, told me 
 the infuriate temper that had fallen, for the last 
 curse, on Jerusalem. Scarcely a man passed me 
 of whom I could not have said, " There goes one 
 from a murder, or to a murder." 
 
 But more open evidences startled me, accus- 
 tomed as I was to scenes of military violence. I 
 saw men stabbed in familiar greetings in the 
 streets; mansions set on fire and burned in the 
 face of day, with their inmates screaming for help 
 and yet unhelped ; hundreds slain in rabble 
 tumults, of which no one knew the origin. The 
 streets were covered with the wrecks of pillage, 
 sumptuous furniture plundered from the mansions 
 VOL. II. N
 
 290 SALATHIEL. 
 
 of the great, and plundered for the mere love of 
 ruin; mingled with the more hideous wrecks of 
 man — unburied bodies, aud skeletons, left to 
 whiten in the blast, or to be torn by the dogs. 
 
 Three factions divided Jerusalem, even while 
 the Roman battering-rams were shaking her co- 
 lossal towers. Three armies fought night and 
 day within the city, carrying on the operations of 
 war with more than civil fury. Streets under- 
 mined, houses battered down, granaries burned, 
 wells poisoned, the perpetual shower of death 
 from the roofs, made the external hostility tri- 
 vial ; and the Romans required only patience to 
 have been bloodless masters of a city, which yet 
 they would have found only a tomb of its people. 
 
 I wandered, an utter stranger, through Jeru- 
 salem. All the familiar faces were gone. At an 
 early period of the war many of the higher ranks, 
 foreseeing the event, had left the city ; at a later, 
 ray victory over Cestius, by driving back the 
 enemy, gave a free passage to a crowd of others. 
 It was at that time remarked that the chief fugi- 
 tives were Christians ; and a singular prophecy of 
 their Master was declared to be the warning of 
 their escape. It is certain that, of his followers, 
 including many even of our priests and learned 
 men, scarcely one remained. They declared that
 
 SALATHIEL. 291 
 
 the evil menaced by the Divine Wisdom through 
 Moses — (may he rest in glory !) vpas come ; that 
 the death of their Master was the consummating 
 crime ; and that, in the Romans, the predicted 
 nation of destroyers, the people " of a strange 
 speech," flying on " eagle wings from the ends of 
 the earth," was already commissioned against a 
 land stained with the blood of the Messiah. 
 
 Fatally was the word of the great prophet of 
 Israel accomplished ; fearfully fell the sword to 
 smite away root and branch ; solemnly, and by a 
 hand which scorned the strength of man, was the 
 deluge of ruin let loose against the throne of 
 David. -And still, through almost two thousand 
 years, the flood of desolation is at the full ; no 
 mountain-top is seen rising ; no spot is left clear 
 for the sole of the Jewish foot ; no dove returns 
 with the olive. 
 
 Eternal King, shall this be for ever ? Wilt thou 
 utterly reject the children of him whom thy right 
 hand brought from the land of the idolater t Wilt 
 thou for ever hide thy might from the tribes whom 
 thy servant Moses led through the burning wilder- 
 ness ? Wilt thou not bring back the broken king- 
 dom of thy servant Israel? Still we wander in 
 darkness, the tenants of a prison whose walls we 
 feel at every step : the scoff" of the idolater ; the
 
 292 SALATHIEL. 
 
 captive of the infidel ; have we not abided with- 
 out king or priest, or ephod or teraphim, many 
 days; and when are those days to be at an 
 end ? 
 
 Yet, is not the deluge at last about to subside ? 
 Is not the trumpet at the lip to summon thy 
 chosen 1 Are not the broken tribes now awaiting 
 thy command to come from the desert — from the 
 sea — from the dungeon — from the mine — like the 
 light from darkness ? I gaze upon the stars, and 
 think, countless and glorious as they are, such 
 shall yet be thy multitude and thy splendour, 
 people of the undone ! The promise of the King 
 of Kings is fulfilling; and even now, to my 
 withered eyes, to my struggling prayer, to the 
 deeper agonies of a supplication that no tongue 
 can utter, there is a vision and an answer. — On 
 my knees worn by the flint, I hear the midnight 
 voice ; and, weeping, wait for the day that will 
 come, though heaven and earth shall pass away.
 
 SALATHIEL. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 My first object was, to ascertain the fate of 
 my family. From Constantius I could learn 
 nothing ; for the severity of his wound had re- 
 duced him to such a state, that he recognised no 
 one. I sat by him day after day, watching with 
 bitter solicitude for the return of his senses. He 
 raved continually of his wife, and every other 
 name that I loved. The effecting eloquence of 
 his appeals sometimes plunged me into the deepest 
 depression ; sometimes drove me out to seek re- 
 lief from them even in the horrors of the streets. 
 I was the most solitary of men. In those melan- 
 choly wanderings, none spoke to me ; I spoke to 
 none. The kinsmen whom I had left under the 
 command of my brave son, were slain or dis-
 
 294 SALATHIRL. 
 
 persed ; and, on the night when I saw him bat- 
 tling with his native ardour, the men whom he led 
 to the foot of the rampart were an accidental 
 band, excited by his brilliant intrepidity to choose 
 him at the instant for their captain. In sorrow, 
 indeed, had I entered Jerusalem, 
 
 The devastation of the city was enormous dur- 
 ing its tumults. The great factions were reduced 
 to two ; but in the struggle, a large portion of the 
 Temple was burned. The stately chambers of the 
 priests were dust and embers. The cloisters which 
 encircled the sanctuary were beaten down, or left 
 naked to the visitation of the seasons, which now, 
 as by the peculiar wrath of Heaven, had assumed 
 a fierce and ominous inclemency. Tremendous 
 bursts of tempest shook the city ; and the popular 
 mind was kept in perpetual alarm at the accidents 
 which followed those storms. Fires were con- 
 stantly caused by the lightning ; deluges of rain 
 flooded the streets, and, falling on the shattered 
 roofs, increased the misery of their famishing in- 
 habitants: the keenest severity of winter in the 
 midst of spring, added to the sufferings of a peo- 
 ple doubly unprovided to encounter it, by its un- 
 expectedness, and by their necessary exposure on 
 the battlements and in the field. 
 
 Within the walls, all bore the look of a grave.
 
 SA.LATHIEL. 295 
 
 and even that grave shaken by some convulsion of 
 nature. From the battlements, the sight was 
 despair. The Roman camps covered the hills, 
 and we could see the soldiery sharpening the very 
 lances that were to drink our blood. The fires 
 of their night-watches lighted up the horizon 
 round. 
 
 At every fire we could see our future slayers. 
 We heard the sound of their trumpets, and their 
 shouts ; as the sheep in the fold might hear the 
 roaring of the lion and the tiger ready to leap their 
 feeble boundary. 
 
 Yet the valour of the people was never wearied 
 out. The wall, whose circle was to shut us up 
 from the help of man or the hope of escape, was 
 the grand object of attack and defence; and, 
 though thousands covered the ground at its foot 
 with their corpses, the Jew was still ready to rush 
 on the Roman spear. This valour was sponta- 
 neous, for subordination had long been at an end. 
 The names of John of Giscala and Simon, influen- 
 tial as they were in the earlier periods of the war, 
 had lost their force in the civil fury and desperate 
 pressures of the siege. No leaders were acknow- 
 ledged, but hatred of the enemy, iron fortitude, 
 and a determination not to survive the fall of Je- 
 rusalem.
 
 296 SALATHIEL. 
 
 In this furious warfare, I took my share with 
 the rest ; handled the spear, and fought and 
 watched, without thinking of any distinction of 
 rank. My military experience, and the personal 
 strength which enabled me to render prominent 
 services in those desultory attacks, often excited 
 our warriors to offer me command ; but ambition 
 was dead within me. 
 
 I was one day sitting beside the bed of Con- 
 stantius, and bitterly absorbed in gazing on what 
 I thought the progress of death ; when I heard an 
 universal outcry, more melancholy than human 
 voices seemed made to utter. My first thought 
 was that the enemy had forced the gates. I took 
 down my sword, and gloomily prepared to go out, 
 and die. I found the streets filled with crowds 
 hurrying forward without apparent direction, but 
 all exhibiting a sorrow amounting to agony ; 
 wringing their hands, beating their bosoms, tear- 
 ing their hair, and casting dust and ashes on their 
 heads. A large body of the priesthood came 
 rushhig from the Temple with loud lamentations. 
 The Daily Sacrifice had ceased! The perpe- 
 tual offering, which twice a day burned in testi- 
 monial of the sins and the expiation of Israel, the 
 peculiar homage of the nation to Heaven, was no 
 more ! The siege had extinguished the resources
 
 SALATHIEL. 297 
 
 of the Temple ; the victims could no longer be 
 supplied ; and the people must perish without the 
 power of atonement. This was the final cutting 
 off — the declaration of the sentence — the seal 
 of the great condemnation. — Jerusalem was un- 
 done ! 
 
 Overpowered by this fatal sign, I was sadly re- 
 turning to my worse than solitary chamber; for 
 there lay, speechless and powerless, the noblest 
 creature that breathed in Jerusalem — yet a source 
 of perpetual anxiety to me from his utter helpless- 
 ness, and the deep affection which I bore him ; 
 when I was driven aside by a new torrent of the 
 people, exclaiming — " The prophet ! the prophet ! 
 woe to the city of David !" 
 
 They rushed on in haggard multitudes ; and in 
 the midst of them came a mad fellow, bounding 
 and gesticulating with indescribable wildness. His 
 constant exclamation was — " Woe ! — woe ! — woe !" 
 expressed in a tone that searched the very heart. 
 He stopped from time to time, and flung out some 
 denunciation against the popular crimes, then 
 recommenced his cry of " Woe!" and bounded 
 forward again. 
 
 He at length came opposite to where I stood ; 
 and his features struck me as resembling some that
 
 298 SALATIIIEL. 
 
 I had seen before. But they were full of a strange 
 impulse — the grandeur of inspiration, mingled 
 with the animal 6erceness of frenzy. The eye 
 shot fire under the sharp and hollow brows ; 
 the nostrils contracted and opened like those 
 of an angry steed ; and every muscle of a sin- 
 gularly elastic frame was quivering and exposed 
 from the effects alike of mental violence and 
 famine. 
 
 " Ho ! Prince of Naphtali ! we meet at last !" 
 
 was his exclamation. His countenance fell; and a 
 
 tear gushed from lids that looked incapable of 
 
 human weakness. " I found her, my beauty, my 
 
 bride ! She was In the dungeon. The seal-ring 
 
 that I tore from that villain's finger was worth a 
 
 mine of gold, for it opened the gates of her prison. 
 
 Come forth, girl !" With these words, he caught 
 
 by the hand, and led to me a pale creature, with 
 
 the traces of loveliness, but evidently in the last 
 
 stage of mortal decay. She stood silent as a 
 
 statue. In compassion 1 took her hand, while 
 
 the multitude gathered round us in curiosity. I 
 
 now remembered Sabat the Ishmaelite, and his 
 
 story. 
 
 " She is mad," said Sabat, shaking his head 
 mournfully, and gazing on the fading form at his
 
 SALATHIEL. 299 
 
 side. " Worlds would not restore ber senses. 
 But there is a time for all things." He sighed, 
 and cast his full eye on heaven. " I watched her 
 day and night," he went on, " till I grew mad 
 too. But the world will have an end, and then all 
 will be well. Come, wife, we must be going. To- 
 night there are strange things within the walls, 
 and without the walls. There will be feasting 
 and mourning ; there will be blood and tears : 
 then comes the famine — then comes the fire — then 
 the sword ; and then all is quiet again, and for 
 ever! But Heaven is mighty. To-night there 
 will be wonders ; watch well your walls, people 
 of the ruined city! To-night there will be signs; 
 let no man sleep, but those that sleep in the grave. 
 Prince of Naphtali ! have you too sworn, as I have, 
 to die ?" He lifted his meagre hand. " Come, 
 ye thunders ! come, ye fires ! vengeance cries 
 from the sanctuary. Listen, undone people ! 
 listen, nation of sorrow ! to the trumpets of the 
 ministers of wrath. Woe ! — woe ! — woe I" 
 
 Pronouncing those words with a voice of the 
 most sonorous, yet melancholy power, he threw 
 himself into a succession of strange and fearful 
 gestures ; then beckoning to the female, who sub- 
 missively followed his steps, plunged away among
 
 300 SALATHIEL. 
 
 the multitude. I heard the howl of " Woe ! — woe! 
 woe !" long- echoed through the windings of the 
 ruined streets ; and thought that I heard the voice 
 of the angel of desolation. 
 
 END OF VOL. 11. 
 
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 PRINTED BY A. J. VALPV, RED LION COUHT, FLEEt STREET.
 
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