Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem

  When Caleb reached Tyre, by the last light of the setting sun he saw awhite-sailed galley beating her way out to sea. Entering the city, heinquired who went in the galley and was told Gallus, a Roman captain, incharge of a number of sick and wounded men, many of the treasures of theTemple, and a beautiful girl, who was said to be the grand-daughter ofBenoni of that town.

  Then knowing that he was too late, Caleb groaned in bitterness ofspirit. Presently, however, he took thought. Now, Caleb was wise in hisgeneration, for at the beginning of this long war he had sold all hisland and houses for gold and jewels, which, to a very great value, hehad left hidden in Tyre in the house of a man he trusted, an old servantof his father's. To this store he had added from time to time out ofthe proceeds of plunder, of trading, and of the ransom of a rich Romanknight who was his captive, so that now his wealth was great. Goingto the man's house, Caleb claimed and packed this treasure in bales ofSyrian carpets to resemble merchandise.

  Then the peasant who had travelled into Tyre upon business about a mule,was seen no more, but in place of him appeared Demetrius, the Egyptianmerchant, who bought largely, though always at night, of the merchandiseof Tyre, and sailed with it by the first ship to Alexandria. Here thismerchant bought much more goods, such as would find a ready sale in theRoman market, enough to fill the half of a galley, indeed, which lay inthe harbour near the Pharos lading for Syracuse and Rhegium.

  At length the galley sailed, meaning to make Crete, but was caught bya winter storm and driven to Paphos in Cyprus, where, being afraid toattempt the seas again, let the merchant, Demetrius, do what he wouldto urge them forward, the captain and crew of the galley determinedto winter. So they beached her in the harbour and went up to the greattemple, rejoicing to pay their vows and offer gifts to Venus, who haddelivered them from the fury of the seas, that they might swell thenumber of her votaries.

  But although he accompanied them, since otherwise they might havesuspected that he was a Jew, Demetrius, who sought another goddess,cursed Venus in his heart, knowing that had it not been for her delightsthe sailors would have risked the weather. Still, there was no help forit and no other ship by which he could sail, so here he abode for morethan three months, spending his time in Curium, Amathos and Salamis,trading among the rich natives of Cyprus, out of whom he made alarge profit, and adding wine, and copper from Tamasus to his othermerchandise, as much as there was room for on the ship.

  In the end after the great spring festival, for the captain said that itwould not be fortunate to leave until this had been celebrated, theyset sail and came by way of Rhodes to the Island of Crete, and thencetouching at Cythera to Syracuse in Sicily, and so at last to Rhegium.Here the merchant, Demetrius, transhipped his goods into a vessel thatwas sailing to the port of Centum Cellae, and having reached that placehired transport to convey them to Rome, nearly forty miles away.