gdom of God, each shall labor for all, and all shall enjoy
the labor of each.'

'Whereas now,' said the artizan, who had complained of the injustice of
the banker Jonas, 'all labor for a few, these few labor for no one, and
benefit from the labor of all.'

'But for those,' replied Peter, 'our master of Nazareth hath said: 'The
son of man shall send his angels, who shall gather together and carry
out of his kingdom all who are scandalous, and who commit iniquity;
these shall be thrown into a fiery furnace, where there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.'

'And it will be justice,' said Oliba the courtezan; 'is it not they who
force us to sell our bodies to escape the gnashing of teeth caused by
hunger?'

'Is it not they who force mothers to make a traffic of their daughters
rather than see them die of misery?' said another courtezan.

'Oh! when will the day of justice come?'

'It comes, it approaches,' replied Peter in a loud voice; 'for evil, and
iniquity and violence are everywhere; not only here in Juda, but
throughout the whole world, which is the Roman world. Oh! the woes of
Israel are nothing; no, nothing in comparison to the woes that afflict
the nations, her sisters! The whole universe groans and bleeds beneath
the triple yoke of Roman ferocity, debauchery, and cupidity! From one
end of the earth to the other, from Syria to oppressed Gaul, we hear
nothing but the clank of chains and the groans of the slaves crushed
with labor; unhappy amongst the unhappy! they sweat blood from every
pore! More to be pitied than the wild beast dying in his den, or the
beast of burthen dying on his litter; these slaves are tortured, are
killed, or given at pleasure to the teeth of wild beasts! Do valiant
peoples like the Gauls seek to break their chains, they are drowned in
their own blood; and I, I speak the truth to you, in the name of Jesus,
our master; yes, I tell you the truth, this cannot last.'

'No, no!' exclaimed several voices; 'no, this cannot endure!'

'Our master is grieved,' continued the disciple; 'oh! grieved to the
death in thinking of the horrible miseries, the vengeances, and fearful
reprisals which so many ages of oppression and iniquity will let loose
upon the earth. The day before yesterday, at Bethlehem, our master said
to us:

"When you hear of sedition and wars, be not alarmed; these things must
arrive first, but their end will not come so soon."

'Listen,' said several voices, 'listen.'