n the sun's setting and the entrance
of total darkness; _i. e._ between about six o'clock and seven or
half-past seven. A graphic description of the commencement of the
sabbath is given in Disraeli's novel of _Alroy_, and may serve to
illustrate this, the original, idea of "between the two evenings."

"The dead were plundered, and thrown into the river, the
encampment of the Hebrews completed. Alroy, with his principal
officers, visited the wounded, and praised the valiant. The
bustle which always succeeds a victory was increased in the
present instance by the anxiety of the army to observe with
grateful strictness the impending sabbath.

"When the sun set the sabbath was to commence. The undulating
horizon rendered it difficult to ascertain the precise moment
of his fall. The crimson orb sunk below the purple mountains,
the sky was flushed with a rich and rosy glow. Then might be
perceived the zealots, proud in their Talmudical lore, holding
the skein of white silk in their hands, and announcing the
approach of the sabbath by their observation of its shifting
tints. While the skein was yet golden, the forge of the
armourers still sounded, the fire of the cook still blazed,
still the cavalry led their steeds to the river, and still the
busy footmen braced up their tents, and hammered at their
palisades. The skein of silk became rosy, the armourer worked
with renewed energy, the cook puffed with increased zeal, the
horsemen scampered from the river, the footmen cast an
anxious glance at the fading light.

"The skein of silk became blue; a dim, dull, sepulchral,
leaden tinge fell over its purity. The hum of gnats arose, the
bat flew in circling whirls over the tents, horns sounded from
all quarters, the sun had set, the sabbath had commenced. The
forge was mute, the fire extinguished, the prance of horses
and the bustle of men in a moment ceased. A deep, a sudden, an
all-pervading stillness dropped over that mighty host. It was
night; the sacred lamps of the sabbath sparkled in every tent
of the camp, which vied in silence and in brilliancy with the
mute and glowing heavens."

In later times, on account of ritualistic necessities, a different
interpretation was held. So Josephus says: "So these high-priests, upon
the coming of their feast which is called the Passov