The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-07-16
SLAUGHTER or THE GAL1LEANs.

20
SLAUGHTER or THE GAL1LEANs.
Pontius plate Armed His Soldiers
With Clubs In DerisfOn.
It was Pilates custom to come to
his official residence kind of palace
for public business during all feasts,
and he was there that day; but he
was in a very ugly frame Of mind.
Such men as Ben Nassur, aided by
zealots from other places, were arous-
ing their followers more and more
from hour to hour, until at last an
angry multitude swarmed around the
gates of Pilates house, cursing him
in the name of the Law, and Of the
Temple. They clamored for the resti-
tuition of the treasures taken from the
priests; the cessation of the aqueduct
work, which the fall of the tower so
plainly declared to be wicked; and
they furiOusly demanded the removal
Of the Temple guards.
The Roman governor had not the
least idea of granting any of these
demands, and he determined to teach
the angry Galileans lesson. He
sent to his camps for a large num-
Der Of soldiers. They were not to
come in armor, but in ordinary cloth
ing, and were to be armed only with
clubs. Strong men can do a great
deal Of damage with heavy cudgels,
but Pilates idea was to express in this
way his Soldierly contempt for Jew
ish mob. His men were ordered to
surround it and to wait for such COM
mands as he might give them.
CyriPs fear of the rabbis and priests
grew stronger as he drew near the
Temple. There was no mother place
on earth, he believed, where a sacri-
fee to God could be offered as solemn
~ as upon the brazen gold-ornamented
altar Of burnt offering, which he and
his father were soon to see. . s.,
Louder and louder grew the sounds
of the tumult in the open space be-
fore the governors palace, but Cyril
and his father could no longer hear
it, for they were now in outer court
Of the Temple. They advanced to-
ward the steps leading up to the gor-
geously gilded portals of the. inner
court. Here they were met by a Lee
vite to whom Ezra at once handed
the feecy offering which he had
brought and so carried in his arms
During several minutes, however,
there had been strange sounds beyond
the gate of the outer court. and they
were fast growing louder. Era and
his. son led the way into the inner
court, and they followed. In a mo-
ment more Cyril could see the smok-
ing altar, the splendidly arrayed
priests, the chanting Levites, the
swinging censers, and all the grand
appliances of the Temple worship.
Everything was splendid beyond his
imaginings; but he could not look at
it for more than a moment. Behind
him, surging through the gate into
the outer court, filling that space, and
then pouring on into the inner court,
came shouting, shrieking, maddened
multitude.
Pilates club-men had been doing
their brutal work only too we'll, and,
If his soldiers carried clubs only. other
enemies of the Galileans (and they
were many had seized this opportun-
ity, for steel blades were flashing
| among the pursuers. An angry mob
were now pitilessly shifting down the
Jews who had protested so zealously
for the Temple and the Law. j.,
They did not pause at the gate of
the inner court, but, in a moment
more, there were slain Galilenas ly-
ing among the the bodies of the ami
mails prepared for sacrifice, and the
revenge of PLATE upon those who had
upbraided him was becoming terrible
The priests and other Temple officers
were fleeing. From "The Swordmak-
er's Son. by w, o. Stoddard, in St
Nicholas.