Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1871-02-03

P"r'isans OF John and simon murderinc
each other daily, and plundering ths
temple OF the sacred vessels. A rumo.
spreading in the Roman camp that the
Jewish deserters swallowed their money
before they left Jerusalem, led to the
murder, in one night, Josephus says, OF
nearly two thousand of these unhappy
creatures. Again part of the wall fell
before the battering rams, but only to
discover to the Romans fresh rampant
built behind it. In one attack q brave
Syrian soldier of the cohorts, with eleven
other men, succeeded in reaching the top
Of the wall, but they were there over.
powered by the Jews. A few DAYS after.
twelve Roman soldiers scrambled up by
night through breach in the tower Of
Antonia, killed the guards, and sounding
trumpets, summoned the rest Of the or.
my to their aid. The tower once carried.
the Romanstried to force their way into
the temple, and hand to-hand fight ensu.
ed, which terminated in the Romans be-
ing driven back to the tower of Antonia.
The jews, now seeing the temple in dam
ger, and the assault recommending, set
fire to the cloister that Joined the temple
and the castle Of Antonia, and prepared
for desperate resistance in their last
stronghold. In this conAagration many Of
the Romans, advancing too eagerly, per.
ished.
During all this fighting, the famine
grew worse and worse. The wretched
people ate their shoes, belts, and even the
leather thongs of their shields. Friends
fought for food, and robbers broke into
every house where it was known that corn
was hidden. Josephus even mentions
well-known case of woman Of wealth
from beyond Jordan who ate her own
child. The walls of the temple were so
massive as to resis. the battering-rams
for six days, so Titus at last gave orders
to burn down the gates.
AT last, aftera desperate resistance the
Jews we're driven into the inner court
and the temple was set on fire and des-
troyed, in spite of all the efforts of Titus
to save it. When the Jews FIRST saw the
flames spring up, Josephus says they
raised great shout of despair, and six
teen thousand of the defenders perished
IN the fire. The Romans, in the fury of
the assault, burnt down the treasury
chambers, filled with gold and other
riches, and all the cloisters, into which
multitudes of Jews had fed, expecting
something miraculous, as their false
prophet had predicted. Titus now at
tackled the upper city, and raised
banks against it at which about forty
thousand of the inhabitants deserted
to the Roman camp. The final re.
sistance was very feeble, for the Jews
were now utterly disheartened. The Ro-
mans, once masters of the walls, spread
like deluge over the city. slew all the
Jews they met in the narrow lanes, and
set fire to the houses. In many of these
they found entire families dead of hum
ger, aud these places, in their horror, the
soldiers left unplundered. The Romans,
weary at last, of Staying, Titus gave or
ders that no Jew, unless found with arms
in his hand, should be killed. But some
soldiers still went on butchering the old
and in6rm, and driving the youths and
women into the court Of the temple. The
males under seventeen were sent to the
Egyptian mines; several thousands were
given to provincial amphitheaters to fight
with the gladiators and wild beasts; but
before all could be sent away, eleven
thousand Of them persisted from famine.
Altogether, in this cruel siege, there per.
ished eleven hundred thousand Jews
This enormous multitude is accounted
for by the fact, that when Titus sat down
before Jerusalem, the city was full of
people from all parts of Judea, come up
to celebrate the feast of unleavened
bread.