Chapter 18: Slaves.
John was roused from sleep by being roughly shaken. He sprang tohis feet, and found a number of men--some of whom were holdingtorches--in the room. Two of these had the appearance of merchants.The others were armed and, by their dress, seemed to be Arabs.
"What are you doing here?" one of the men asked him.
"We are peaceful travellers," John said, "injuring no one, and camein here to sleep the night."
"You look like peaceful travellers!" the man replied. "You have twowounds yet unhealed on your head. Your companion has one of hisarms bandaged. You are either robbers, or some of the cutthroatswho escaped from Jerusalem. You may think it Iucky you have falleninto my hands, instead of that of the Romans, who would havefinished you off without a question.
"Bind them," he said, turning to his men.
Resistance was useless. The hands of John and Jonas were tiedbehind their backs, and they were taken outside the house. Severalfires were burning in the road, and lying down were three or fourhundred men and women; while several men, with spears and swords,stood as a guard over them. John saw, at once, that he had falleninto the hands of a slave dealer--one of the many who had come,from various parts, to purchase the Jews whom the Romans sold asslaves--and already the multitude sold was so vast that it hadreduced the price of slaves throughout Italy, Egypt, and the Eastto one-third of their former value. There were, however,comparatively few able-bodied men among them. In almost every casethe Romans had put these to the sword, and the slave dealers,finding John and Jonas, had congratulated themselves on theacquisition; knowing well that no complaint that the captives mightmake would be listened to, and that their story would not bebelieved, even if they could get to tell it to anyone of authority.
John and Jonas were ordered to lie down with the rest, and weretold that, if they made any attempt to escape, they would bescourged to death.
"The villains!" Jonas muttered, as they lay down. "Is it not enoughto drive one mad to think that, after having escaped the Romans, weshould fall into the hands of these rogues!"
"We must not grumble at fate. Hitherto, Jonas, we have beenmarvellously preserved. First of all, we two were alone saved fromJotapata; then we, with ten others, alone out of six hundredescaped alive from Jerusalem. We have reason for thankfulness,rather than repining. We have been delivered out of the hands ofdeath; and remember that I have the ring of Titus with me, andthat--when the time comes--this will avail us."
From the day the siege had begun, John had carried the signet ringof Titus; wearing it on his toe, concealed by the bands of hissandals. He knew that, were he to fall into the hands of theRomans, he would get no opportunity of speaking but, even if notkilled at once, would be robbed of any valuable he might possess;and that his assertion that the ring was a signet, which Titushimself had given him would, even if listened to, be received withincredulity. He had therefore resolved to keep it concealed, and toproduce it only when a favourable opportunity seemed to offer.
"At any rate, Jonas, let us practise patience, and be thankful thatwe are still alive."
In the morning, the cavalcade got into motion. John found that themajority of his fellow captives were people who had been takencaptive when Titus, for the second time, obtained possession of thelower city. They had been sent up to Tiberias, and there sold, andtheir purchaser was now taking them down to Egypt. The men weremostly past middle age, and would have been of little value asslaves, had it not been that they were all craftsmen--workers instone or metal--and would therefore fetch a fair price, if sold tomasters of these crafts. The rest were women and children.
The men were attached to each other by cords, John and Jonas beingplaced at some distance apart; and one of the armed guards placedhimself near each, as there was far more risk of active anddetermined young men trying to make their escape than of the othersdoing so, especially after the manner in which they had beenkidnapped. All their clothes were taken from them, save theirloincloths; and John trembled lest he should be ordered also totake off his sandals, for his present captors would have no idea ofthe value of the ring, but would seize it for its setting.
Fortunately, however, this was not the case. The guards all woresandals and had, therefore, no motive in taking those of thecaptives, especially as they were old and worn. The party soonturned off from the main road, and struck across the hills to thewest; and John bitterly regretted that he had not halted, for thenight, a few miles further back than he did, in which case he wouldhave avoided the slave dealers' caravan.
The heat was intense, and John pitied the women and children,compelled to keep up with the rest. He soon proposed, to a womanwho was burdened with a child about two years old, to place it onhis shoulders; and as the guard saw in this a proof that their newcaptives had no idea of endeavouring to escape, they offered noobjection to the arrangement which, indeed, seemed so good to themthat, as the other mothers became fatigued, they placed thechildren on the shoulders of the male prisoners; loosing the handsof the latter, in order that they might prevent the little onesfrom losing their balance.
The caravan halted for the night at Sichem, and the next daycrossed Mount Gerizim to Bethsalisa, and then went on to Jaffa.Here the slave dealers hired a ship, and embarked the slaves. Theywere crowded closely together, but otherwise were not unkindlytreated, being supplied with an abundance of food and water--for itwas desirable that they should arrive in the best possiblecondition at Alexandria, whither they were bound.
Fortunately the weather was fine and, in six days, they reachedtheir destination. Alexandria was at that time the largest city,next to Rome herself, upon the shores of the Mediterranean. It hadcontained a very large Jewish population prior to the greatmassacre, five years before and, even now, there were aconsiderable number remaining. The merchant had counted upon thisand, indeed, had it not been for the number of Jews scattered amongthe various cities of the East, the price of slaves would havefallen even lower than it did. But the Jewish residents, so far asthey could afford it, came forward to buy their country men andwomen, in order to free them from slavery.
When, therefore, the new arrivals were exposed in the market, manyassuring messages reached them from their compatriots; telling themto keep up their courage, for friends would look after them. Thefeeling against the Jews was still too strong for those whoremained in Alexandria to appear openly in the matter, and theytherefore employed intermediaries, principally Greeks and Cretans,to buy up the captives. The women with children were the firstpurchased, as the value of these was not great. Then some of theolder men, who were unfit for much work, were taken. Then there wasa pause, for already many cargoes of captives had reachedAlexandria, and the resources of their benevolent countrymen werebecoming exhausted.
No one had yet bid for John or Jonas, as the slave dealers hadplaced a high price upon them as being strong and active, andfitted for hard work. Their great fear was that they should beseparated; and John had, over and over again, assured his companionthat should he, as he hoped, succeed in getting himself sent toTitus, and so be freed, he would, before proceeding home, come toEgypt and purchase his friend's freedom.
The event they feared, however, did not happen. One day a Roman,evidently of high rank, came into the market and, after lookingcarelessly round, fixed his eyes upon John and his companion, andat once approached their master. A few minutes were spent inbargaining; then the dealer unfastened the fetters which boundthem, and the Roman briefly bade them follow him.
He proceeded through the crowded streets, until they were in thecountry outside the town. Here, villas with beautiful gardens linedthe roads. The Roman turned in at the entrance to one of thelargest of these mansions. Under a colonnade, which surrounded thehouse, a lady was reclining upon a couch. Her two slave girls werefanning her.
Illustration: 'Lesbia,' the Roman said, 'I have brought you twomore slaves.'
"Lesbia," the Roman said, "you complained, yesterday, that you hadnot enough slaves to keep the garden in proper order
, so I havebought you two more from the slave market. They are Jews, thatobstinate race that have been giving Titus so much trouble. Youngas they are, they seem to have been fighting, for both of them aremarked with several scars."
"I dare say they will do," the lady said. "The Jews are said tounderstand the culture of the vine and fig better than otherpeople, so they are probably accustomed to garden work."
The Roman clapped his hands, and a slave at once appeared.
"Send Philo here."
A minute later a Greek appeared.
"Philo, here are two slaves I have brought from the market. Theyare for work in the garden. See that they do it, and let me knowhow things go on. We shall know how to treat them, if they aretroublesome."
Philo at once led the two new slaves to the shed, at a shortdistance from the house, where the slaves employed out of doorslodged.
"Do you speak Greek?" he asked.
"As well as my native language," John replied.
"My lord Tibellus is a just and good master," Philo said, "and youare fortunate in having fallen into his hands. He expects hisslaves to work their best and, if they do so, he treats them well;but disobedience and laziness he punishes, severely. He is anofficer of high rank in the government of the city. As you may notknow the country, I warn you against thinking of escape. The Lakeof Mareotis well-nigh surrounds the back of the city and, beyondthe lake, the Roman authority extends for a vast distance, and nonewould dare to conceal runaway slaves."
"We shall not attempt to escape," John said, quietly, "and are wellcontent that we have fallen in such good hands. I am accustomed towork in a garden, but my companion has not had much experience atsuch work; therefore, I pray you be patient with him, at first."
John had agreed with Jonas that, if they had the good fortune to besold to a Roman, they would not, for a time, say anything about thering. It was better, they thought, to wait until Titus returned toRome--which he would be sure to do, after the complete conquest ofJerusalem. Even were they sent to him there, while he was stillfull of wrath and bitterness against the Jews--for the heavy lossthat they had inflicted upon his army, and for the obstinacy whichcompelled him to destroy the city which he would fain havepreserved, as a trophy of his victory--they might be lessfavourably received than they would be after there had been sometime for the passions awakened by the strife to abate; especiallyafter the enjoyment of the triumph which was sure to be accorded tohim, on his return after his victory.
The next day the ring, the badge of slavery, was fastened round thenecks of the two new purchases. John had already hidden in theground the precious ring, as he rightly expected that he would haveto work barefooted. They were at once set to work in the garden.John was surprised at the number and variety of the plants andtrees which filled it; and at the beauty and care with which it waslaid out, and tended. Had it not been for the thought of the griefthat they would be suffering, at home, he would--for a time--haveworked contentedly. The labour was no harder than that on hisfather's farm; and as he worked well and willingly Philo, who wasat the head of the slaves employed in the garden--which was a veryextensive one--did not treat him with harshness.
Jonas, although less skilful, also gave satisfaction; and twomonths passed without any unpleasant incident. The Roman slaves,save in exceptional instances, were all well treated by theirmasters, although these had power of life and death over them. Theywere well fed and, generally, had some small money payment madethem. Sometimes, those who were clever at a handicraft were let outto other masters, receiving a portion of the wages they earned; sothat they were frequently able, in old age, to purchase theirfreedom.
There were four other slaves who worked in the garden. Two of thesewere Nubians, one a Parthian, the other a Spaniard. The last died,of homesickness and fever, after they had been there six weeks; andhis place was filled up by another Jew, from a cargo freshlyarrived.
From him, John learned what had taken place after he had leftJerusalem. The bands of Simon and John of Gischala were so muchweakened, by death and desertion, and were so enfeebled by famine,that they could not hope to withstand the regular approaches of theRoman arms, for any length of time. The two leaders thereforeinvited Titus to a parley; and the latter, being desirous ofavoiding more bloodshed, of saving the Palace of Herod and theother great buildings in the upper city, and of returning to Romeat once, agreed to meet them. They took their places at oppositeends of the bridge across the Tyropceon Valley.
Titus spoke first, and expostulated with them on the obstinacywhich had already led to the destruction of the Temple, and thegreater part of the city. He said that all the world, even to thedistant Britons, had done homage to the Romans, and that furtherresistance would only bring destruction upon them. Finally, heoffered their lives to all, if they would lay down their arms andsurrender themselves as prisoners of war.
Simon and John replied that they and their followers had boundthemselves, by a solemn oath, never to surrender themselves intothe hands of the Romans; but they expressed their willingness toretire, with their wives and families, into the wilderness, andleave the Romans in possession of the city. Titus considered thislanguage, for men in so desperate a position, to be a mockery; andanswered sternly that, henceforth, he would receive no deserters,and show no mercy, and that they might fight their hardest. He atonce ordered the destruction of all the buildings standing roundthe Temple.
The flames spread as far as the Palace of Helena, on Ophel, to thesouth of the Temple platform. Here the members of the royal familyof Adiabene dwelt, and also in the Palaces of Grapte and Monobazus;and the descendants of Helena now went over to the Romans, andTitus, although he had declared that he would in future spare none,did not take their lives, seeing that they were of royal blood.
Simon and John of Gischala, when they heard that the Adiabeneprinces had gone over to the Romans, rushed to the Palace ofHelena, sacked it, and murdered all who had taken refuge in thebuilding--seven thousand in number. They then sacked the rest ofthe outer lower town, and retired with their booty into the hightown.
Titus, furious at this conduct, ordered all the outer lower town tobe burned; and soon, from the Temple platform to the Fountain ofSiloam, a scene of desolation extended. The Roman soldiers thencommenced to throw up banks, the one against Herod's Palace, theother near the bridge across the valley close to the Palace ofAgrippa.
The Idumeans, under Simon, were opposed to further resistance, andfive of their leaders opened communication with Titus, who wasdisposed to treat with them; but the conspiracy was discovered bySimon, and the five leaders executed. Still, in spite of thewatchfulness of Simon and John, large numbers of the inhabitantsmade their escape to the Romans who, tired of slaying, spared theirlives, but sold the able-bodied as slaves, and allowed the rest topass through their lines.
On the 1st of September, after eighteen days' incessant labour, thebank on the west against Herod's Palace was completed, and thebattering rams commenced their work. The defenders were tooenfeebled, by famine, to offer any serious resistance and, the nextday, a long line of the wall fell to the ground.
Simon and John at first thought of cutting their way through theRoman ranks but, when they saw how small was the body of followersgathered round them, they gave up the attempt. They hesitated, fora moment, whether they should throw themselves into the three greattowers, and fight to the last; or endeavour to fight their waythrough the wall of circumvallation.
They chose the latter course, hurried down to the lower end of theupper city and, sallying out from the gate, they rushed at theRoman wall; but they had no engines of war to batter it, they werefew in number and weakened by famine; and when they tried to scalethe wall the Roman guards, assembling in haste, beat them back; andthey returned into the city and, scattering, hid themselves in theunderground caves.
The Romans advanced to the great towers, and found them deserted.Titus stood amazed at their strength and solidity; and exclaimedthat God, indeed, was on their side for that by man, alone,
theseimpregnable towers could never have been taken.
All resistance having now ceased, the Romans spread themselvesthrough the city, slaughtering all whom they met, withoutdistinction of age or sex. They were, however, aghast at thespectacle which the houses into which they burst presented. Some ofthese had been used as charnel houses, and had been filled withdead bodies. In others were found the remains of whole familieswho, with their servants, had shut themselves up to die of hunger.Everywhere the dead far outnumbered the living.
The next day, Titus issued an order that only such as possessedarms should be slain, and that all others should be takenprisoners; but the Roman soldiers were too infuriated at the lossesand defeats they had suffered even to obey the orders of Titus, andall save the able-bodied, who would be of value as slaves, wereslaughtered. A vast number of those fit for slaves were confined inthe charred remains of the Women's Court and, so weakened werethese, by the ravages of famine, that eleven thousand of them aresaid to have perished. Of the survivors, some were selected tograce the triumphal procession at Rome. Of the remainder, all underthe age of seventeen were sold as slaves. A part of those abovethat age were distributed, among the amphitheatres of Syria, tofight as gladiators against the wild beasts; and the rest werecondemned to labour in the public works, in Egypt, for the rest oftheir lives.
When all above the surface had been slain, or made prisoners, theRomans set to work methodically to search the conduits, sewers, andpassages under the city. Multitudes of fugitives were found here,and all were slain as soon as discovered. Then the army was set towork, to raze the city to the ground. Every building and wall werethrown down, the only exception being a great barrack adjoiningHerod's Palace--which was left for the use of one of the legions,which was to be quartered there for a time--and the three greattowers--Hippicus, Phasaelus, and Mariamne--which were leftstanding, in order that they might show to future generations howvast had been the strength of the fortifications which Roman valourhad captured.
John of Gischala and Simon had both so effectually concealedthemselves that for a time, they escaped the Roman searchers. Atthe end of some days, however, John was compelled by famine to comeout, and surrender. Simon was much longer, before he made hisappearance. He had taken with him into his hiding place a few ofhis followers, and some stone masons with their tools, and aneffort was made to drive a mine beyond the Roman outposts. The rockhowever was hard, and the men enfeebled by famine; and theconsequence was that Simon, like his fellow leader, was compelledto make his way to the surface.
The spot where he appeared was on the platform of the Temple, farfrom the shaft by which he had entered the underground galleries.He appeared at night, clad in white, and the Roman guards at firsttook him for a spectre; and he thus escaped instant death, and hadtime to declare who he was. Titus had already left; but TerentiusRufus--who commanded the Tenth Legion, which had been leftbehind--sent Simon in chains to Titus, at Caesarea; and he, as wellas John of Gischala, were taken by the latter to Rome, to grace histriumph.
"It is strange," John said, when he heard the story, "that the twomen who have brought all these woes upon Jerusalem should have bothescaped with their lives. The innocent have fallen, and the guiltyescaped--yet not escaped, for it would have been better for them tohave died fighting, in the court of the Temple, than to live asslaves in the hands of the Romans."
A month later, John learned the fate that had befallen the twoJewish leaders. Both were dragged in the triumphal procession ofTitus through the streets of Rome; then, according to the cruelRoman custom, Simon was first scourged and then executed, as thebravest of the enemies of Rome, while John of Gischala wassentenced to imprisonment for life.
The day after the news of the return to Rome and triumph of Titusarrived, John asked Philo to tell Tibellus that he prayed that hewould hear him, as he wished to speak to him on a subject connectedwith Titus. Wondering what his Jewish slave could have to say aboutthe son of the emperor, Tibellus, upon hearing from Philo of therequest, at once ordered John to be brought to him.
"Let me bring my companion, also, with me," John said to Philo. "Heis my adopted brother, and can bear evidence to the truth of mystatements."
When they reached the colonnade Philo told them to stop there and,a minute later, Tibellus came out.
"Philo tells me that you have something to say to me, concerningTitus."
"I have, my lord," John said, and he advanced and held out thering.
The Roman took it, and examined it.
"It is a signet ring of Titus!" he said, in surprise. "How came youby this? This is a grave matter, slave; and if you cannot accountsatisfactorily as to how you came possessed of this signet, you hadbetter have thrown yourself into the sea, or swallowed poison, thanhave spoken of your possession of this signet."
"It was given to me by Titus, himself." John said.
The Roman made a gesture of anger.
"It is ill jesting with the name of Caesar," he said, sternly."This is Caesar's ring. Doubtless it was stolen from him. You mayhave taken it from the robber by force, or fraud, or as a gift--Iknow not which--but do not mock me with such a tale as that Caesargave one of his signets to you, a Jew."
"It is as I said," John replied, calmly. "Titus himself bestowedthat ring upon me; and said that, if I desired to come to him atany time, and showed it to a Roman, it would open all doors, andbring me to his presence."
"You do not speak as if you were mad," Tibellus said, "and yet yourtale is not credible.
"Are you weary of life, Jew? Do you long to die by torture? Philohas spoken well to me of you and your young companion. You havelaboured well, and cheerfully, he tells me; and are skilled at yourwork. Do you find your lot so hard that you would die to escape it,and so tell me this impossible story? For death, and a horribledeath, will assuredly be your portion. If you persist in this taleand, showing me this ring, say: 'I demand that you send me and mycompanion to Titus,' I should be bound to do so; and then tortureand death will be your portion, for mocking the name of Caesar."
"My lord," John said, calmly, "I repeat that I mock not the name ofCaesar, and that what I have told you is true. I am not weary oflife, or discontented with my station. I have been kindly treatedby Philo, and work no harder than I should work at my father'sfarm, in Galilee; but I naturally long to return home. I haveabstained from showing you this ring before, because Titus had notas yet conquered Jerusalem; but now that I hear he has beenreceived in triumph, in Rome, he would have time to give me anaudience; and therefore I pray that I may be sent to him."
"But how is it possible that Titus could have given you this ring?"Tibellus asked, impressed by the calmness of John's manner, and yetstill unable to believe a statement which appeared to himaltogether incredible.
"I will tell you, my lord, but I will tell you alone; for althoughTitus made no secret of it at the time, he might not care for thestory to be generally told."
Tibellus waved his hand to Philo, who at once withdrew.
"You have found it hard to believe what I have told you, my lord,"John went on. "You will find it harder, still, to believe what Inow tell you; but if it is your command, I am bound to do so."
"It is my command," Tibellus said, shortly. "I would fain know thewhole of this monstrous tale."
"I must first tell you, my lord, that though as yet but twenty-oneyears old, I have for four years fought with my countrymen againstthe Romans.
"You see," he said, pointing to the scars on his head, arms, andbody, "I have been wounded often and, as you may see for yourself,some of these scars are yet unhealed. Others are so old that youcan scarce see their traces. This is a proof of so much, at least,of my story. My companion here and I were, by the protection of ourGod, enabled to escape from Jotapata, when all else save Josephusperished there. This was regarded by my countrymen as well-nigh amiracle, and as a proof that I had divine favour. In consequence anumber of young men, when they took up arms, elected me as theirleader and, for three years, we did what we could t
o oppose theprogress of the Roman arms. It was as if a fly should try to stop acamel. Still, we did what we could, and any of the Roman officerswho served under Titus would tell you that, of those who opposedthem in the field, there was no more active partisan than theleader who was generally known as John of Gamala."
"You, John of Gamala!" Tibellus exclaimed. "In frequent lettersfrom my friends with the army I have read that name, and heard howincessant was the watchfulness required to resist his attacks, andhow often small garrisons and parties were cut off by him. It washe, too, who burned Vespasian's camp, before Gamala. And you tellme, young man, that you are that Jewish hero--for hero he was,though it was against Rome he fought?"
"I tell you so, my lord; and my adopted brother here, who was withme through these campaigns, will confirm what I say. I say it notboastingly, for my leadership was due to no special bravery on mypart, but simply because the young men of the band thought that Godhad specially chosen me to lead them."
"And now, about Titus," Tibellus said briefly, more and moreconvinced that his slave was audaciously inventing this story.
"Once, near Hebron," John said, "I was passing through a valley,alone; when Titus, who was riding from Carmelia in obedience to asummons from Vespasian--who was at Hebron--came upon me. Heattacked me, and we fought--"
"You and Titus, hand to hand?" Tibellus asked, with a short laugh.
"Titus and I, hand to hand," John repeated, quietly. "He hadwounded me twice, when I sprang within his guard and closed withhim. His foot slipped, and he fell. For a moment I could have slainhim, if I would, but I did not.
"Then I fainted from loss of blood. Titus was shortly joined bysome of his men, and he had me carried down to his camp; where Iwas kindly nursed for a week, he himself visiting me several times.At the end of that time he dismissed me, giving me his signet ring,and telling me that if ever again I fell into the hands of theRomans, and wished to see him, I had but to show the ring to aRoman, and that he would send me to him."
"And to him you shall go," Tibellus said, sternly; "and betterwould it have been that you had never been born, than that I shouldsend you to him with such a tale as this."
So saying, he turned away, while John and his companion returned totheir work. The Roman officer was absolutely incredulous, as to thestory he had heard; and indignant in the extreme at what heconsidered the audacity of the falsehood. Still, he could not butbe struck by the calmness with which John told the story, nor couldhe see what motive he could have in inventing it. Its falsitywould, of course, be made apparent the instant he arrived in Rome;whereas had he said, as was doubtless the truth, that he hadobtained the ring from one who had stolen it from Titus, he mighthave obtained his freedom, and a reward for its restoration.
After thinking the matter over for a time, he ordered his horse androde into the city. One of the legions from Palestine had returnedthere, while two had accompanied Titus to Rome, and a fourth hadremained in Judea. Tibellus rode at once to the headquarters of thecommander of the legion. He had just returned, with some of hisofficers, from a parade of the troops. They had taken off theirarmour, and a slave was pouring wine into goblets for them.
"Ah, Tibellus!" he said, "Is it you? Drink, my friend, and tell uswhat ails you, for in truth you look angered and hot."
"I have been angered, by one of my slaves," Tibellus said.
"Then there is no trouble in that," the Roman said, with a smile;"throw him to the fishes, and buy another. They are cheap enough,for we have flooded the world with slaves and, as we know to ourcost, they are scarce saleable. We have brought two or threethousand with us, and can get no bid for them."
"Yes, but this matter can't be settled so," Tibellus said; "butfirst, I want to ask you a question or two. You heard, of course,of John of Gamala, in your wars in Judea?"
There was a chorus of assent.
"That did we, indeed, to our cost," the general said; "save the twoleaders in Jerusalem, he was the most dangerous; and was by far themost troublesome of our foes. Many a score of sleepless nights hasthat fellow caused us; from the time he well-nigh burnt all ourcamp before Gamala, he was a thorn in our side. One never knewwhere he was, or when to expect him. One day we heard of himattacking a garrison at the other end of the country, and the nextnight he would fall upon our camp. We never marched through aravine, without expecting to see him and his men appearing on thehills, and sending the rocks thundering down among us; and theworst of it was, do what we would, we could never get to closequarters with him. His men could march three miles to our one; andas for our Arabs, if we sent them in pursuit, they would soon comeflying back to us, leaving a goodly portion of their numbers deadbehind them. He was the most formidable enemy we had, outsideJerusalem; and had all the Jews fought as he did, instead ofshutting themselves up in their walled towns, we might have beenyears before we subdued that pestilent country."
"Did you ever see this John of Gamala? Do you know what he waslike, personally? Was he another giant, like this Simon who wasexecuted at the triumph, the other day?"
"None of us ever saw him--that is, to know which was he, thoughdoubtless we may have seen him, in the fights--but all the countrypeople we questioned, and such wounded men as fell into ourhands--for we never once captured one of his band, unharmed--allasserted that he was little more than a lad. He was strong, andskilful in arms, but in years a youth. They all believed that hewas a sort of prophet, one who had a mission from their God.
"But why are you asking?"
"I will tell you, presently," Tibellus said; "but first answer meanother question. Was it not your legion that was at Carmelia, withTitus, when Vespasian lay at Hebron?"
There was a general assent.
"Did you ever hear of a wounded Jew being brought in, and tendedthere by order of Titus?"
"We did," the general said; "and here is Plancus, who was incommand of that part of the horse of the legion which formed thebodyguard of Titus, and who brought him into the camp. He will tellyou about it."
"Titus had received a message from Vespasian that he wished to seehim," the officer signified by the general said, "and rode off atonce, telling us to follow him. We armed and mounted, as soon as wecould; but Titus was well mounted, and had a considerable start. Wecame up to him in a valley. He was standing by the side of his deadhorse. He was slightly wounded, and his dirtied armour showed thathe had had a sharp fight. Close by lay a Jew, who seemed to bedead. Titus ordered him to be carried back to the camp, and caredfor by his own leech. That is all I know about it."
"I can tell you more," the general said, "for Titus himself told methat he had had a desperate fight with the Jew; that he had woundedhim severely, and was on the point of finishing him, when the Jewsprang at him suddenly and the sudden shock threw him to theground; and that, strange as it might seem, although knowing who hewas, the Jew spared his life. It was a strange story, and anyonebesides Titus would have kept it to himself; and run his swordthrough the body of the Jew, to make sure of his silence; but Titushas notions of his own, and he is as generous as he is brave. Bywhat he said, I gathered that the Jew abstained from striking,believing--as was truly the case--that Titus was more merciful thanVespasian, and that he would spare Jerusalem and their Temple, ifhe could.
"And now, why all these questions?"
"One more on my part first: what became of the Jew, and what was helike?"
"That is two questions," the general replied; "however, I willanswer them. Titus let him go free, when he was recovered from hiswounds. He was a young man, of some twenty years old."
"And do you know his name?"
"I know his name was John, for so he told Titus; but as every otherJew one comes across is John, that does not tell much."
"I can tell you his other name," Tibellus said. "It was John ofGamala."
An exclamation of astonishment broke from the officers.
"So that was John of Gamala, himself!" the general said. "None ofus ever dreamt of it; and yet it might well have been for, now It
hink of it, the young fellow I saw lying wounded in the tent nextto that of Titus answered, exactly, to the description we haveheard of him; and the fact that he overcame Titus, in itself, showsthat he had unusual strength and bravery.
"But how do you know about this?"
"Simply because John of Gamala is, at present, working as a slavein my garden."
"You do not say so!" the general exclaimed. "We have often wonderedwhat became of him. We learned, from the deserters, that he hadentered into Jerusalem, and was fighting there against us. They allagreed that the men he had brought with him took no part in theatrocities of the soldiers of Simon, and John of Gischala; but thatthey kept together, and lived quietly, and harmed no man. It wasthey, we heard, who did the chief part in the three days' fightingat the breach of the lower town; but we never heard what became ofhim, and supposed that he must have fallen in the fighting roundthe Temple.
"And so, he is your slave, Tibellus! How did you know it was he,and what are you going to do? The war is over, now, and there hasbeen bloodshed enough and, after all, he was a gallant enemy, whofought us fairly and well."
"He told me, himself, who he was," Tibellus said; "but I believed thathe was lying to me. I had heard often of John of Gamala, and deemedthat he was a brave and skilful warrior; and it seemed impossible thatyoung man could be he. As to what I am going to do with him, I havenothing to do but what he has himself demanded--namely, to be sent toTitus. He produced the signet ring of Caesar; said that it was givento him by the general, himself; and that he told him that, if hepresented it to a Roman at any time, he would lead him to his presence.I believed that he had stolen the ring, or had got it from somebodythat had stolen it; and he then told me of the story, very much as youhave told it--save that he said that, when he was well-nigh conquered byTitus, and sprang upon him, Caesar's foot slipped, and he fell--hintingthat his success was the result of accident, rather than his own effort.He spoke by no means boastingly of it, but as if it was the most naturalthing in the world."
"There he showed discretion, and wisdom," the general said; "buttruly this is a marvellous story. If he had not appealed to Caesar,I should have said, 'Give him his freedom.' You can buy a new slavefor a few sesterces. This young fellow is too good to be a slaveand, now that Judea is finally crushed, he could never becomedangerous; but as he has demanded to be sent to Caesar, you must,of course, send him there. Besides, with the ideas that Titus has,he may be really glad to see the youth again.
"But we shall like to see him, also. We all honour a braveadversary, and I should like to see him who so long set us atdefiance."
"I will bring him down, tomorrow, at this hour," Tibellus said; andthen, taking leave of the officers, he mounted and rode back.
On reaching home, he at once sent for John.
"I doubted your story, when you told it to me," he said, "anddeemed it impossible; but I have been down to the officers of thelegion which arrived, last week, from Judea. It chances to be thevery one which was at Carmelia, when Vespasian lay at Hebron; and Ifind that your story is fully confirmed--although, indeed, they didnot know that the wounded man Titus sent in was John of Gamala--butas they admit that he answered, exactly, to the description whichthey have heard of that leader, they doubt not that it was he.
"However, be assured that your request is granted, and that youshall be sent to Rome by the next ship that goes thither."