his court in Tiberias in consequence of the renown of his
miracles. Wishing to witness some exhibition of his skill, Antipas
seated himself in imperial fashion on his highest throne, and, drawing
his finest embroideries about him, asked Jesus if he had seen anybody
attired so beautifully before, to which Jesus, who stood between two
soldiers, a beggar in rags, before the king, replied: I have indeed;
pheasants and peacocks, for nature apparelled them. Neither Moses nor
Elijah nor Jeremiah, Nicodemus declared, could have invented a reply
more apt. He asked Joseph if any further doubt lingered in his mind that
Jesus was the prophet promised to the Jews. How I envy thy intercourse
with him, he cried. How I envy thee, for thou art the friend of him that
will overthrow the Romans.

Overthrow the Romans! Joseph repeated to himself, and as soon as his
guest had left his house he was brought to a presentiment of the danger
he incurred in allowing this man to come to his house: a young man who
walked about extravagantly armed would, sooner or later, find himself
haled before Pilate. Joseph felt that it would be better to refuse to
see him if he called at the counting-house: an excuse could be found
easily: his foreman might say: Master is away in Jericho. But when
Nicodemus called a few weeks afterwards Joseph was constrained to tell
his foreman to tell Nicodemus that he would see him. The truth was,
Joseph was glad of an interruption, for his business was boring him more
than it did usually, but he liked to pretend to himself that he could
not escape from Nicodemus.

A new opinion of Nicodemus began to shape itself in his mind when
Nicodemus said that many and many a year will have to pass before that
can be done with success, and the Roman rule is so light that the people
feel it not. It saves us from quarrels among ourselves, and who have
quarrelled as bitterly as we have done? Joseph's heart softened at this
appreciation of the Jewish people, and they began to talk in sympathy
for the first time, and it was a pleasure to find themselves in this
agreement, that before the Jews could conquer the Romans they would have
to conquer themselves. He is more cautious than I thought for, Joseph
muttered as he returned to his camel-drivers, for his guest had departed
suddenly without giving any reason for his visitation. A spy he cannot
be, Joseph said to himself. I stand too well with Pilate to be suspected
of schemes of mutiny. But