Naomi

by Mrs. J. B. Webb

Those of Titus's troops who had gained the summit of the hill, and saw the enemy come pouring up on either side, and attacking their noble general and his faithful band with determined fury, were struck with horror at the critical situation to which they had abandoned him. By a loud outcry they raised an alarm among the whole legion, and spread the information that Titus was surrounded and in danger of being massacred. Bitterly they reproached one another for their desertion of their brave commander; and with the resolute courage of men ashamed of their conduct, and resolved to make amends for it, they rallied their scattered numbers, faced their pursuers, and by their determined valour at length succeeded in driving them down the hill. Every foot of ground was well contested by the Jews, but they could not long stand against the force of the Romans bearing down upon them from above in a solid phalanx, and they were compelled to retreat, entirely discomfited. Titus remained to establish a strong and efficient line of outposts, and then retired to his camp, and dismissed his wearied men to seek repose after the lengthened struggle which they had been compelled that day to maintain.

Attack of the First Wall

CHAPTER XXII.

It was now the time of the passover; and though the festive joy that was wont to pervade the once happy and favoured city at that sacred season was gone for ever, yet even in these days of calamity the hallowed festival still retained its hold on the hearts of the people of Judah. Formerly the whole population of the land used to repair with joyful feet to their holy and beloved city, where they found every house open to receive visitors with a free and cheerful hospitality. This thronging of the sons of Israel to offer up their united praises for the deliverance of their forefathers from the bondage of Egypt could now no longer be effected; yet great numbers still repaired at the accustomed period to the metropolis, undeterred by fears or obstacles from attempting to accomplish what they regarded as a solemn duty and privilege. They found an entrance into the city, but to retire from it was impossible, and this vast addition to the population of the place only increased the misery of the besieged, by hastening the consumption of the provisions that were yet stored up for the day of want.

The recurrence of this holy feast at such a time of civil disorder was also the occasion of other calamities, by causing the rupture of the recently established peace between the factious leaders of the city. The great day of sacrifice arrived. The priests were at their stations, and all was ready for the celebration of the sacred rite. Eleazar commanded the gates of the inner temple, where he still kept his quarters, to be opened for the of the worshippers; when a party of John's most desperate adherents stole in unperceived among the crowd with swords and other weapons concealed beneath their cloaks. No sooner were these ruffians within the gates than they cast aside their cloaks, and brandishing their swords, fell upon the defenceless multitude, who expected that a general massacre would follow. The Zealots suspected that the stratagem was designed entirely for their destruction, and leaving the gates undefended, they all fled away and took refuge in the subterranean chambers beneath the temple. The helpless crowd who had assembled to worship the Lord God of Israel now gathered around the sacred altars for protection; but even the sanctity of those hallowed spots was insufficient to preserve the fugitives from the violence of the Zealots. Many were trampled to death, and a still greater number slain either in mere wantonness and cruelty, or to gratify private hatred. The altars flowed with blood, but it was not the blood of the appointed victims shed for the expiation of the sins of the people. It was the blood of human beings, poured forth by the hands of murder and sacrilege, to fill up the measure of Zion's iniquity, and call down the vengeance of an insulted God!

At length the fierce partisans of John of Gischala were glutted with robbery and carnage; and having taken possession of the inner apartments of the temple, they made terms of peace with their enemies who were concealed beneath. They permitted them to come up from their places of refuge, and even to resume their arms, and remain under the nominal command of their leader Eleazar; but in fact they became a subordinate part of the faction attached to John, and thus the sedition which before was divided into three parties was reduced to two.

Meanwhile Titus was slowly and cautiously advancing towards the city. He posted in the camp at Scopus a sufficient body of horse and foot to guard against the incursions of the enemy, and then he employed the rest of the army in levelling the whole space between the place of encampment and the Tomb of Herod, near the pool called the Fishpond of Serpents. All the fences and verdant hedges that enclosed the orchards and gardens were torn up; and those beautifully luxuriant spots where the inhabitants of Jerusalem had enjoyed so many hours of recreation, were swept away by the merciless hand of war. The trees were cut down, and the clear fountains filled up with rubbish, that a broad and level road might be constructed from Scopus to within a short distance of the outer wall of the city.