sion, the
rage of the enemies of Jesus. Alas! he deceives himself; he will only
appease them by the death of this just man!'

Scarcely had Pontius Pilate given orders for Jesus to be chastised, than
the soldiers seized him, tore off the last remnants of his mantle,
stripped him of his tunic of linen, and his tunic of wool, which they
turned down over his leather belt, and thus laid bare the upper portion
of his body; they then bound him to one of the pillars that adorned the
entrance door of the house of the Roman Governor. Jesus opposed no
resistance, offered no complaint, turned his celestial face towards the
crowd, and regarded it sorrowfully, but without appearing to hear the
hootings and insults showered upon him. They had sent for the
executioner of the city to flog him with rods, so, whilst awaiting the
coming of the executioner of the law, the vociferations continued, still
excited by the emissaries of the pharisees.

'Pontius Pilate hopes to satisfy us by the chastisement of this
vagabond; but he is deceived,' said some.

'The culpable indulgence of the Roman governor,' added one of the
emissaries, 'only proves too well that there is a secret understanding
between him and the Nazarene.'

'Eh! my friends, of what do you complain?' inquired another: 'Pontius
Pilate gives us more than we ask of him; we only wanted the death of the
Nazarene, and he will be chastised before he is put to death. Glory to
the generous Pontius Pilate.'

'Yes, yes! for he must certainly condemn him; we will force him to do
it.'

'Ah! here's the executioner!' cried several voices: 'here's the
executioner and his assistant.'

Genevieve recognized the same two men, who, three days before, had
flogged her with a whip at the house of her master; she could not
restrain her tears at the thought that this youth, who was all love and
tenderness, was about to suffer an ignominous punishment reserved for
slaves. The two executioners carried under their arm a package of hazel
twigs, long, flexible, and as thick as a thumb. Each of the executioners
took one, and on a sign from Caiphus, the blows began to fall violently
and rapidly on the shoulders of the young man of Nazareth. When one twig
broke, the executioners took another. At first Genevieve turned away her
eyes from this cruel spectacle; but she was forced to hear the savage
jests of the crowd, which, to the son of Mary, must have been a more
horrible torture than the punishment itself