t these things the _thaumaturgi_ did, and always to the
excitement of the common people.

Heavens, what sects and sects! Pharisees, Essenes, Sadducees--a legion
of them! No sooner did they start with a new quirk when it turned
political. Coponius, procurator fourth before Pilate, had a pretty time
crushing the Gaulonite sedition which arose in this fashion and spread
down from Gamala.

In Jerusalem, that last time I rode in, it was easy to note the
increasing excitement of the Jews. They ran about in crowds, chattering
and spouting. Some were proclaiming the end of the world. Others
satisfied themselves with the imminent destruction of the Temple. And
there were rank revolutionises who announced that Roman rule was over and
the new Jewish kingdom about to begin.

Pilate, too, I noted, showed heavy anxiety. That they were giving him a
hard time of it was patent. But I will say, as you shall see, that he
matched their subtlety with equal subtlety; and from what I saw of him I
have little doubt but what he would have confounded many a disputant in
the synagogues.

"But half a legion of Romans," he regretted to me, "and I would take
Jerusalem by the throat . . . and then be recalled for my pains, I
suppose."

Like me, he had not too much faith in the auxiliaries; and of Roman
soldiers we had but a scant handful.

Back again, I lodged in the palace, and to my great joy found Miriam
there. But little satisfaction was mine, for the talk ran long on the
situation. There was reason for this, for the city buzzed like the angry
hornets' nest it was. The fast called the Passover--a religious affair,
of course--was near, and thousands were pouring in from the country,
according to custom, to celebrate the feast in Jerusalem. These
newcomers, naturally, were all excitable folk, else they would not be
bent on such pilgrimage. The city was packed with them, so that many
camped outside the walls. As for me, I could not distinguish how much of
the ferment was due to the teachings of the wandering fisherman, and how
much of it was due to Jewish hatred for Rome.

"A tithe, no more, and maybe not so much, is due to this Jesus," Pilate
answered my query. "Look to Caiaphas and Hanan for the main cause of the
excitement. They know what they are about. They are stirring it up, to
what end who can tell, except to cause me trouble."

"Yes, it is certain that Caiaphas and Hanan are responsible," Miriam
said, "but you, P