at their meal.

When it was concluded, and the family were alone, he told them what
had happened in Jerusalem during the past year. Vague rumors of
dissension, and civil war, had reached them; but a jealous watch
was set round the city, and none were suffered to leave, under the
pretext that all who wished to go out were deserters who sought to
join the Romans.

"I passed through, with difficulty," the rabbi said, "after bribing
John of Gischala, with all my worldly means, to grant me a pass
through the guards; and even then should not have succeeded, had he
not known me in old times, when I looked upon him as one zealous
for the defense of the country against the Romans--little thinking,
then, that the days would come when he would grow into an oppressor
of the people, tenfold as cruel and pitiless as the worst of the
Roman tribunes.

"Last autumn when, with the band of horsemen, with steeds weary
with hard riding, he arrived before the gates of Jerusalem--saying
that they had come to defend the city, thinking it not worth while
to risk their lives in the defense of a mere mountain town, like
Gischala--the people poured out to meet him, and do him honor
Terrible rumors of slaughter and massacre, in Galilee, had reached
us, but none knew the exact truth. Moreover, John had been an enemy
of Josephus and, since Josephus had gone over to the Romans, his
name was hated and accursed among the people; and thus they were
favorably inclined towards John.

"I don't think anyone was deceived by the story he told, for it was
evident that John and his men had fled before the Romans. Still,
the tidings he brought were reassuring, and he was gladly received
in the city. He told us that the Romans had suffered very heavily
at the sieges of Jotapata and Gamala, that they were greatly
dispirited by the desperate resistance they had met with, that a
number of their engines of war had been destroyed, and that they
were in no condition to undertake the siege of a strong city like
Jerusalem. But though all outwardly rejoiced, many in their hearts
grieved at the news, for they thought that even an occupation by
the Romans would be preferable to the suffering they were
undergoing.

"For months, bands of robbers, who called themselves Zealots, had
ravaged the whole country; pillaging, burning, and slaying, under
the pretense that those they assaulted were favorable to the cause
of Rome. Thus, gradually, the country people all forsook