rown,
destroyed all save a single member of the old court of justice and the
confidence of his people.

His household became the scene of bloody intrigues which even stirred
the tongue of Caesar with contempt. Herod became the dupe of a
designing sister, of base flatterers, and of an evil and ambitious son.
They undermined his confidence in all who deserved it. His beloved
wife Mariamne, his two sons Alexander and Aristobulus, and many others
of exceptional good repute in the kingdom were unjustly put to death.
Then, swiftly, as he penetrated the maze of plot and counterplot, those
who had fooled him began to fall before his wrath. He was now, indeed,
a forlorn, loveless, and terrible creature.

Many thought him afflicted with madness. There were noble folk in
Jerusalem who said they had seen the body of Mariamne embalmed in
honey, above the king's chamber, where every day he could look upon it.
Some had seen him wandering about the palace at night with a candle,
mourning over his loss and raging at his own folly. Some had seen him
so shaken by remorse that he roared like a lion goaded by hunger and
the lance. At such a time it was, indeed, a peril to come before him.
Plots against his life had worried him, and, distrusting his helpers,
he was wont to go about the city in disguise seeking information.
Twice he had forgiven Antipater, his favorite son, for crimes in the
royal household.

Now, in his seventy-sixth year, the king was, indeed, sorely pressed
with trouble. Jerusalem was the centre of a plot formidable and
far-reaching. Its object was, in part, clear to him, or so he thought,
and with some reason. It seemed to aim at his removal and the crowning
of a mysterious king of prophecy, who, many said, was now waiting the
death of Herod. It baffled him. He saw signs that many had their
heads together in this plot. So far, however, he had not been able to
lay hands upon them. There were many theories about the new king.
They were strange and conflicting and zealously put forth. They
differed as to whether he were yet born and as to his divinity, his
character, and his purposes. The Sanhedrim held that when he came into
the world there would be certain signs and portents seen of all men.
This conflict of authority increased the confusion of Herod. When
Vergilius came to his capital the king was mired on the very edge of
the great mystery.

Powers of darkness ruled the city of Jerusalem. The sword,