“Shall I read this? It’s the nineteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles,” she asked suddenly, addressing her governess.
“Very well,” agreed Miss Moore.
So Rachel began to read how St. Paul, having come to Ephesus to preach Christianity, had roused the anger of a certain silversmith, Demetrius by name, who “made silver shrines for Diana.” This man, as it appeared from the story, was greatly afraid of losing his trade, because so many people were becoming Christians that no one, he thought, would care any more for the silver shrines. He therefore tried to stir up the citizens against St. Paul and his teaching, by calling together a great crowd of people, to whom he declared that all the silversmiths and workmen would suffer through this new religion of Christianity. “So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at naught,” he said, “but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.”
Rachel read this with interest, for she had actually seen some of the temples built thousands of years ago, in honour of certain gods, and she guessed that the temple for a goddess, “whom all Asia and the world worshippeth” must have been particularly magnificent. She went on to the next verse, which showed that Demetrius had succeeded in rousing the people to defend their old worship: “And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians.’ And the whole city was filled with confusion ... some therefore cried one thing and some another: for the assembly was confused, and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.”
Then the story went on to relate how a man called Alexander tried to speak to the clamouring people, and could not make himself heard for the noise, for “all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians.’”
Thanks to Mr. Sheston’s story of Rhodes, and thanks also to her own strange magical journeys, Rachel had some sort of picture in her mind of the scene described in the Bible.
Ephesus was not so very far from Rhodes, and it was on the coast. There must then, have been a deep blue sky above that temple round which the people shouted “Great is Diana of the Ephesians,” and dazzling sunshine, and a glimpse of wonderful blue sea!
Before Rachel had finished the chapter she had made up her mind to ask Mr. Sheston about Diana of the Ephesians. She liked the name very much, and it certainly sounded as though something interesting—perhaps exciting might be connected with it. Suppose it should even lead to an “adventure”? She scarcely dared to hope for this, but all the same there was a little hope at the back of her mind.
Anyhow, there was something, though of a different nature, to look forward to this very afternoon, for a little girl was coming to tea.
“She’s the daughter of an artist I happened to meet the other day,” Aunt Hester had explained at breakfast time. “He turned out to be a friend of your father’s, and, when he heard you were here, he said he would like his little girl to meet you, so I invited her to come to-day.”