se of that
wretched Jew. Then sleep came to all, and in dreams the noble Don
Esclevador saw his sovereign liege, and kneeled before his throne, and
heard his sovereign liege's gracious voice; in dreams the heartweary
soldier sailed the blue waters of the Spanish main, and pressed his
native shore, and beheld once again the lovelight in the dark eyes of
her that awaited him; in dreams the mountain-pines were kissed of the
singing winds, and murmured drowsily and tossed their arms as do little
children that dream of their play; in dreams the Jew swayed hither and
thither, scourged by that nameless horror in his bosom, and seeing the
pleading eyes of our dying Master, and hearing that awful mandate:
"Move on, O Jew! move on forever!" So each slept and dreamed his
dreams,--all slept but the Father Miguel, who alone throughout the
night kneeled in the shrine and called unto the saints and unto our
Mother Mary in prayer. And his supplication was for that Jew; and the
mists fell upon that place and compassed it about, and it was as if the
heavens had reached down their lips to kiss the holy shrine. And
suddenly there came unto the Jew a quiet as of death, so that he tossed
no more in his sleep and spake no word, but lay exceeding still,
smiling in his sleep as one who sees his home in dreams, or his mother,
or some other such beloved thing.

It came to pass that early in the morning the Jew came from the cavern
to go upon his way, and the Father Miguel besought him to take with him
a goodly loaf in his wallet as wise provision against hunger. But the
Jew denied this, and then he said: "Last night while I slept methought
I stood once more in the city of the Great King,--ay, in that very
doorway where I stood, swart and lusty, when I spurned him that went
his way to Calvary. In my bosom burned the terror as of old, and my
soul was consumed of a mighty anguish. None of those that passed in
that street knew me; centuries had ground to dust all my kin. 'O God!'
I cried in agony, 'suffer my sin to be forgotten,--suffer me to sleep,
to sleep forever beneath the burden of the cross I sometime spurned!'
As I spake these words there stood before me one in shining raiment,
and lo! 't was he who bore the cross to Calvary! His eyes that had
pleaded to me on a time now fell compassionately upon me, and the voice
that had commanded me move on forever, now broke full sweetly on my
ears: 'Thou shalt go on no more, O Jew, but as thou h