hank him, as the conqueror of
the Cliti and the father of the young Aulus, now returning to his own
domain, since the East was the country of the gods. These hyperboles
were expressed in Latin, and Vitellius accepted them impassively.

He replied that the great Herod was the honour and glory of the nation;
that the Athenians had chosen him to direct the Olympian games; that
he had built temples in the honour of Augustus; had been patient,
ingenious, terrible; and was faithful to all the Caesars.

Between the two marble columns, with bronze capitals, Herodias could now
be seen advancing with the air of an empress, in the midst of a group
of women and eunuchs carrying perfumed torches set in sockets of
silver-gilt.

The proconsul advanced three steps to meet her. She saluted him with an
inclination of her head.

"How fortunate," she exclaimed, "that henceforth Agrippa, the enemy of
Tiberius, can work harm no longer!"

Vitellius did not understand her allusion, but he thought her a
dangerous woman. Antipas immediately declared that he was ready to do
anything for the emperor.

"Even to the injury of others?" Vitellius asked, significantly.

He had taken hostages from the king of the Parthians, but the emperor
had given no further thought to the matter, because Antipas, who had
been present at the conference, had, in order to gain favour, sent off
despatches bearing the news. From that time he had borne a profound
hatred towards the emperor and had delayed in sending assistance to him.

The tetrarch stammered in attempting to reply to the query of the
proconsul. But Aulus laughed and said: "Do not be disturbed. I will
protect thee!"

The proconsul feigned not to hear this remark. The fortune of the father
depended, in a way, on the corrupt influence of the son; and through him
it was possible that Antipas might be able to procure for the proconsul
very substantial benefits, although the glances that he cast about him
were defiant, and even venomous.

But now a new tumult arose just within the gates. A file of white mules
entered the courtyard, mounted by men in priestly garb. These were the
Sadducees and the Pharisees, who were drawn to Machaerus by the same
ambition: the one party hoping to be appointed public sacrificers,
the other determined to retain those offices. Their faces were dark,
particularly those of the Pharisees, who were enemies of Rome and of the
tetrarch. The flowing skirts of their tunics emba