The Van Buren press., 1896-08-15
SLAUGHTER OF THE GALILEANS.
Poptius plate Armed His Soldiers with
Clubs of Derision.

1t WAS Pilates custom to come to his
official residence-a kind of palace for
public misunderstanding all feasts, and
he was there that day; but he was in u
very ugly frame of mind. Such men as
Ben Nassur, aided by zealots from other
places, were arousing their followers
more and more from hour to hour, until
at last an angry multitude swarmed
around the gates of Pilates house, ours
ing him in the name of the law, and of
the temple. They clamored for the res
titution 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 q lesson. He sent to his camps
for q large number of soldiers. They
were not to come in armor, but in ordi-
nary clothing, and were to be armed
only with clubs. Strong men can do
great deal of damage with heavy cud-
gels, but Pilates idea was to express in
this way his soldierly contempt for
Jewish mob. His men were ordered to
surround it and to wait for such COM
mands as he might give them.
Cyril's fear of the rabbis and priests
grew stronger as he drew near the tenn
pie. There was no other place ON earth,
he believed, where n sacrifice to God
could be offered as solemnly as upon the
brazen gold-ornamented altar of burnt
Offering, which he and his father were
soon to see.
Louder and louder grew the sounds
OF the tumult in the open space before
the governors palace, but Cyril and his
father could no longer hear it, for they
were now in the outer court of the tenn
pie. They advanced toward the steps
leading up to the gorgeously gilded
portals of the inner court. Here they
were met by Levite to whom Ezra at
once handed the fleecy Offering which
he had brought and had so far 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. Ezra
and his son would have paused to listen,
but the Levite led the way into the in
ner court and they followed. In a
moment more Cyril could see the smok-
ing altar, the spelendidly arrayed
priests, the chanting Lcvites, the swing
it,o or1 oil tho nd l..
ances of the temple worship. Every
thing was splendid beyond his imagin-
ings; but he could not look at it for
more than moment. Behind him,
surging through the gate into the outer
court, filling that space, and then pour
ing on into the inner court, came a
shouting, shrieking, maddened multi
tude.
Plates club men had been doing
their brutal work only too well, and, if
his soldiers carried clubs only, other
enemies of the Galileans land they were
many had seized this opportunity, 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 tenn
pie and the law.
They di6 not pause at the gate of the
inner court, but, in a moment more,
there were slain GaIileans lying among
the bodies of the animals prepared for
sacrifice, and the revenge of PLATE upon
those who had upbraided him was be-
coming terrible. The priests and other
temple officers were feeing.-W. o.
C4oJJarI ~ CO NfnboIac