The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Martyr of the Catacombs, by Anonymous

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Title: The Martyr of the Catacombs
A Tale of Ancient Rome

Author: Anonymous

Release Date: February 23, 2008 [EBook #24680]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARTYR OF THE CATACOMBS ***

THE MARTYR OF THE CATACOMBS

A TALE OF ANCIENT ROME

If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus,
what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not?--ST. PAUL

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK: HUNT & EATON

CINCINNATI: CRANSTON & CURTS

CONTENTS.

I. THE COLISEUM
II. THE PRETORIAN CAMP
III. THE APPIAN WAY
IV. THE CATACOMBS
V. THE CHRISTIAN'S SECRET
VI. THE CLOUD OF WITNESSES
VII. THE CONFESSION OF FAITH
VIII. LIFE IN THE CATACOMBS
IX. THE PERSECUTION
X. THE ARREST
XI. THE OFFER
XII. POLLIO'S TRIAL
XIII. THE DEATH OF POLLIO
XIV. THE TEMPTATION
XV. LUCULLUS

Illustrations.

THE BOY MARTYR
PLAN OF THE CATACOMBS
A PASSAGE IN THE CATACOMBS
THE COLISEUM

CHAPTER I.

THE COLISEUM.

"Butchered to make a Roman holiday."

It was a great festival day in Rome. From all quarters vast numbers of
people came pouring forth to one common destination. Over the Capitoline
Hill, through the Forum, past the Temple of Peace and the Arch of Titus
and the imperial palace; on they went till they reached the Coliseum,
where they entered its hundred doors and disappeared within.

There a wonderful scene presented itself. Below, the vast arena spread
out, surrounded by the countless rows of seats which rose to the top of
the outer wall, over a hundred feet. The whole extent was covered with
human beings of every class and every age. So vast an assemblage
gathered in such a way, presenting to view long lines of stern faces,
ascending far on high in successive rows, formed a spectacle which has
never elsewhere been equaled, and which was calculated beyond all others
to awe the soul of the beholder. More than one hundred thousand people
were gathered here, animated by one common feeling, and incited by one
single passion. It was the thirst for blood which drew them hither, and
nowhere can we find