nd the destined martyrs
walked forth on the arena in the sight of assembled thousands. It was a
spectacle to arrest the attention of even the most thoughtless, and to
move the sympathy of even the most austere. At the head of the little
company walked the good presbyter, Demetrius, his silvery hair and beard
and benignant expression of countenance giving him a strikingly
venerable aspect. Leaning heavily on his arm, evidently faint in frame
but strong in spirit, was his daughter Callirho[e:]. Robed in white, she
looked the embodiment of saintly purity, and in her eyes there beamed a
heroic courage which inspired a wonder that so brave a soul should be
shrined in so frail a body. Adauctus, Aurelius, and other Christian
confessors condemned to death, made up the little contingent of the
noble army of martyrs.

The prefect Naso, from his place in the tribune, near the Emperors, read
the sentence of the court, that the accused having been proven by ample
testimony to be the enemies of the C[ae]sars and of the gods, had been
condemned to death by exposure to wild beasts.

"Nay, not the enemies of the C[ae]sars," exclaimed the aged Demetrius. "We
are the friends of all, the enemies of none.[50] We pray for the C[ae]sars
at all our assemblies."

"Will you do homage to the gods?" demanded Diocletian. "Will you burn
incense to Neptune? Here is his altar and here are his priests."

"We worship the true God who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and
all that in them is," replied the venerable man, with uplifted and
reverent countenance, "and Him only will we serve. They be no gods which
are made by man's device, and 'tis idolatry to serve them."

"Away with the Atheists," cried the priests of Neptune; "they blaspheme
the holy gods."

"The Christians to the lions!" roared the mob, and at the signal from
the Emperor to the master of the games, the dens of the wild beasts were
thrown open, and the savage brutes, starved into madness, bounded into
the arena. The defenceless martyrs fell upon their knees in prayer, and
seemed conscious only of the presence of Him who stood with the three
Hebrews in the fiery furnace, so rapt was the expression of faith and
courage on their upturned faces.

The fierce Numidian lions, and tigers from the Libyan desert, instead of
bounding upon their prey, began to circle slowly around them, lashing
their tawny flanks meanwhile, glaring at their victims from bloodshot
fiery eyes, and uttering