od next to the Creator, or Father, in the heavenly
hierarchy, the other angels presented him with a wonderful crown,
whose central jewel was a flawless emerald of unusual size.

The advent of the Son, relegating Lucifer to the third instead of the
second place, occasioned his apostasy, which, as Milton explains, was
followed by war in heaven and by the expulsion of the rebel angels.
During his fall from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell, the
emerald, dropping out of Satan's crown, fell upon earth. There it was
fashioned into the cup or dish which Our Lord used during the Last
Supper, and in which Joseph of Arimathea caught a few drops of blood
which flowed from His side. After the Crucifixion the Jews walled
Joseph alive in a prison, where he was sustained in good health and
spirits by the Holy Grail, which he had taken with him. In this prison
Joseph lingered until Vespasian, hearing the story of Christ's
passion, sent messengers to Palestine for relics, hoping they might
cure his son Titus of leprosy. Restored to health by the sight of St.
Veronica's handkerchief,--which had wiped away the bloody sweat from
Our Lord's brow and bore the imprint of his feature,--Titus proceeded
to Jerusalem, where he summoned the Jews to produce the body of
Christ. Not being able to comply, they accused Joseph of having stolen
it. Thereupon Titus, continuing his investigations, found Joseph alive
and well in the prison where he was supposed to have perished. Free
once more, yet dreading further persecution, Joseph embarked, with his
sister and brother-in-law Brons, in a vessel bound for Marseilles, the
Holy Grail supplying all their needs during the journey. On landing in
France, Joseph was divinely instructed to construct a table, around
which he and his companions could be seated, and where the Holy Grail
supplied each guest with the food he preferred. But one seat at this
table, in memory of Judas, was to remain empty until a sinless man
came to occupy it. A sinner, once attempting to seat himself in it,
was swallowed up by the earth, and Joseph was informed that the
enchanter Merlin would in time make a similar table, where a
descendant of Brons would have the honor of occupying this "Siege
Perilous." From Marseilles, by gradual stages, and meeting with every
kind of adventure on the way, Joseph, or his descendants, conveyed the
Holy Grail to Glastonbury in England, where it remained visible until
people became too sinful