oward, at night, while I have been fighting for my own land, down
here--we may well feel ashamed, both of us, in the presence of this
youth; who has for three years harassed the Romans, burning their
camps, driving out small garrisons, hindering pillagers from
straying over the country, cutting off their convoys, and forcing
them to keep ever on the watch.

"I tell you, John, I feel ashamed beside him. He has brought here
six hundred men of his band, all picked and determined fellows, for
the defense of the city. I tell you they will be no mean
assistance; and you would say so, also, had you seen how they drew
up today, in solid order, ready to withstand the whole of my force.
He is not of my party, or of yours; he comes simply to fight
against the Romans and, as I understand him, when the Romans
retire, he will leave, also."

"That is certainly my intention," John said, quietly; "but before I
go, I hope that I shall be able to act as mediator between you
both, and to persuade you to come to some arrangement which may
free Jerusalem from a renewal of the evils which, between you, you
have inflicted upon her. If you beat back the Romans, you will have
gained all the honor that men could desire; and your names will go
down to all posterity as the saviors of Jerusalem and the Temple.
If you desire treasure, there is not a Jew but that will be ready
to contribute, to the utmost of his power. If you desire power,
Palestine is wide enough for you to divide it between you--only
beware, lest by striving longer against each other, your names go
down as those who have been the tyrants of the land; names to be
accursed, as long as the Hebrew tongue remains."

The two men were silent. Bold as they were, they felt abashed
before the outspoken rebuke of this stripling. They had heard him
spoken of as one under the special protection of Jehovah. They knew
that he had had marvelous escapes, and that he had fought
single-handed with Titus; and the air of authority with which he
spoke, his entire disregard of their power, his fearlessness in the
presence of men before whom all Jerusalem trembled, confirmed the
stories they had heard, and created an impression almost to awe.

"If we three are alive, when the Romans depart from before the
city," Simon said, in his deep voice, "it shall be as you say; and
I bind myself, beforehand, to agree to whatever you shall decide is
just and right.

"Therefore, John of Gischala, henceforth I sh