To

My Elder Brother

Otto Miller

CONTENTS

  1. [A Prince's Bride 1]
  2. [On the Road to Jerusalem 31]
  3. [The Shepherd of Pella 56]
  4. [The Travelers 85]
  5. [By the Wayside 108]
  6. [Dawn in the Hills 124]
  7. [Imperial Cæsar 148]
  8. [Greek and Jew 169]
  9. [The Young Titus 189]
  10. [The Story of a Divine Tragedy 212]
  11. [The House of Offense 233]
  12. [The Prince Returns 253]
  13. [A New Pretender 274]
  14. [The Pride of Amaryllis 284]
  15. [The Image of Jealousy 300]
  16. [The Spread Net 322]
  17. [The Tangled Web 337]
  18. [In the Sunless Crypt 358]
  19. [The False Prophet 374]
  20. [As the Foam upon Water 390]
  21. [The Faithful Servant 408]
  22. [Vanished Hopes 417]
  23. [The Fulfilment 427]
  24. [The Road to Pella 441]

THE CITY OF DELIGHT

Chapter I

A PRINCE'S BRIDE

The chief merchant of Ascalon stood in the guest-chamber of his house.

Although it was a late winter day the old man was clad in the free white garments of a midsummer afternoon, for to the sorrow of Philistia the cold season of the year sixty-nine had been warm, wet and miasmic. An old woman entering presently glanced at the closed windows of the apartment when she noted the flushed face of the merchant but she made no movement to have them opened. More than the warmth of the day was engaging the attention of the grave old man, and the woman, by dress and manner of equal rank with him, stood aside until he could give her a moment.