and triumphs in the land for which he
conquered and died.

A. L. O. E.

Contents

I. FAITHFUL TO THE DEATH.
II. THE MIDNIGHT BURIAL.
III. LIFE OR DEATH.
IV. FOLLOWING BEHIND.
V. THE DREAM.
VI. THE JOURNEY HOME.
VII. THE FIRST STRUGGLE.
VIII. HADASSAH'S QUEST.
IX. DEATH OF MATTATHIAS.
X. CONCEALMENT.
XI. DEEP THINGS.
XII. TRIALS OF THE HEART.
XIII. SILENT CONFLICT.
XIV. A CRISIS.
XV. THE TWO CAMPS.
XVI. BATTLE OF EMMAUS.
XVII. DEPARTED.
XVIII. THE PASSOVER FEAST.
XIX. A PRISON.
XX. THE COURT OF ANTIOCHUS.
XXI. THE MAIDEN'S TRIAL.
XXII. A BREATHING SPACE.
XXIII. FOUND AT LAST.
XXIV. DECISION.
XXV. A RETROSPECT.
XXVI. WEARY WANDERINGS.
XXVII. FLIGHT.
XXVIII. UNITED IN THE GRAVE.
XXIX. THE MOURNER'S HOME.
XXX. CHANGES.
XXXI. NIGHT TRAVELLING.
XXXII. FRIENDS OR FOES?
XXXIII. THE LEADER AND THE MAN.
XXXIV. FANATICISM.
XXXV. THE BATTLE-PRAYER.
XXXVI. BETHSURA.
XXXVII. AFTER THE BATTLE.
XXXVIII. THE VICTOR'S RETURN.
XXXIX. THE FEAST OF DEDICATION.

HEBREW HEROES.

CHAPTER I.

FAITHFUL TO THE DEATH.

The sun was setting gloriously over the hills which encompass
Jerusalem, pouring its streams of golden light on the valleys clothed
with the vine, pomegranate, and olive, sparkling on the brook Kedron,
casting a rich glow on flat-roofed dwellings, parapets, and walls, and
throwing into bold relief from the crimson sky the pinnacles of the
Temple, which, at the period of which I write, crowned the height of
Mount Zion. Not the gorgeous Temple which Solomon had raised, that had
long ago been given to the flames, nor yet the Temple as adorned by
King Herod: the building before us stands in its simple majesty as
erected by the Hebrews after their return from Babylon under the
leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Not the might of the powerful,
nor the gold of the wealthy, but the earnest zeal of a people
down-trodden and oppressed had built that Temple; and its highest
adornment was the promise which Haggai's inspired lips had uttered:
_The Desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with
glory, saith the Lord of hosts_ (Hag. ii. 7). _The glory of this
latter house shall be greater than that of the former_ (Hag. ii. 9).

The fulfilment of that promise was sti