Naomi

by Mrs. J. B. Webb

When Zadok and his son left the temple to proceed towards their home, their attention was attracted by a strong light which arose from that part of the upper city where the great prison was situated. They paused to watch it for a moment, and they soon perceived that the prison was on fire; and from the distant clamour and the shouts that proceeded from the spot, they suspected that it was an act intentionally committed by some of the wild insurgents. Javan hastily summoned a party of his own men who were assembled in the temple court, and then begging his father to return home without him, he added,

"I must hasten to the prison; there is one within those walls who must not perish thus."

"Of whom do you speak, Javan?" replied his father. "All the best and most valuable men in our city have already passed from the prisons to death; and who remains for whom you feel so keen an interest? Whoever it may be, I will go with you to rescue him from the dreadful fate that seems to threaten all the captives."

"Come then, my father," said Javan; "let us lose no time, and you may yet see one whom you never thought to behold again on earth. Theophilus lives in that blazing pile, and we may save him."

"Theophilus lives!" cried Zadok. "Oh let us fly to preserve him! When he is safe I will hear all you have to tell of him—but now let us not waste a moment."

They hurried through the streets followed by their armed attendants, and soon reached the area in front of the prison. It presented a scene of confusion and uproar that baffled description. The building had been set on fire by a party of Zealots, who had previously made an ineffectual attempt to force open the gates and release the prisoners, many of whom were criminals of their own faction, confined by order of Simon. These wretches now appeared at the grated windows of their cells, and with frantic gestures and cries of terror, besought their comrades to burst open the door and set them free before the fire should spread through the building. A multitude of both factions were collected in the square, and a fierce struggle was going on near the gates; the Zealots endeavouring to tear them down, and those of Simon's parry striving to repulse them. Meanwhile flames were raging furiously, and volumes of smoke and fire came down upon the crowd; while the shrieks of the prisoners, the shouts of the combatants, and the crash of falling timbers combined to increase the horror of the scene.

Javan was bold and resolute in the highest degree. No danger ever deterred him from prosecuting an object which he earnestly desired to accomplish. Collecting his followers into a compact body, he placed himself at their head; and accompanied by his no less courageous father, he forced his way through the crowd, and reached a small door in the outer wall of the prison. To Zadok's surprise he produced a key which instantly opened this door, and they entered the court-yard. The same key admitted them into the building, which they found filled with a dense smoke and intensely heated by the rapidly-increasing flames. Nevertheless, Javan and Zadok rushed forward; and as they reached the door which led to Theophilus's cell they saw that all the further extremity of the passage was enveloped in a sheet of fire. They entered the cell, which was partially illuminated by the light of the flames which had seized the opposite side of the court. On the ground near the narrow window Theophilus was on his knees: his hands, from which hung heavy chains, were clasped in the attitude of fervent prayer, and his pale countenance was turned towards Heaven with an expression of heroic and saintlike resignation. The creaking of the massy door aroused his attention, and in a moment his eyes met those of Zadok, and he felt himself embraced with warm affection by his uncle. Javan stood aloof. He had visited Theophilus many times in that solitary cell, and his appearance did not awaken any fresh emotions in his stern breast.

"Come, my father," he cried, "this is no time for greetings or explanations. The flames are drawing nearer, and even now our passage may be stopped."

Zadok caught the arm of Theophilus, and supported him while they passed swiftly through the narrow gallery, and retraced the way by which he and Javan had entered. In the court they met the rushing crowd from without, for the great gates had now been burnt down, and a free entrance was afforded to those who sought to release the terrified captives. Through this tumultuous band they wound their way, and at length reached the open area in safety. Onward they pressed, and did not pause to speak or rest, though Theophilus, weakened by long confinement and want of proper nourishment, could scarcely keep pace with his companions. Through all the time of famine, Javan had carefully provided for his cousin's sustenance; but it was not in his power to obtain for him more than would barely sustain life; and his once manly form was wasted away, and all his natural strength had forsaken him.

When they had descended the eminence on which the prison stood, they entered one of the most frequented streets. How changed was all around since Theophilus had beheld that once splendid part of the city! The houses in ruins, or wearing an air of desolation that eloquently told of the miseries of their inhabitants; and the street that was wont to be crowded with passengers, and animated with the hum of many voices, now silent and deserted—peopled only with livid corpses, and a few straggling wretches, whose forms and countenances were scarcely less spectral than those that lay stiff and cold beneath their feet. In the frequent visits which Javan had paid to his cousin's cell, he had informed him of the progress of the war, and the cruel factions that divided the city; but Theophilus had not pictured to himself a scene of such utter desolation as that which now met his view in the clear cold light of the moon. He eagerly questioned Zadok as to the welfare of his family and friends amid the general misery that seemed to prevail; and he learned with deep distress of the hopeless state to which his aunt was reduced, and the sufferings and privations to which all the family had been subjected. Zadok also learned from him the particulars of his preservation, which though they had been told to both Naomi and her mother, had been purposely concealed by Javan from his father, lest he should interfere to procure his liberation. It had been only under a solemn promise of secrecy that the happy intelligence of Theophilus's safety had been confided to Naomi and Salome; and thus Javan had been enabled to pursue his plans without interruption.