among a nation of worms--you shall be
steeped in poverty to the lips--you shall undergo the bitterness of
death, until----Come," he cried suddenly, "son of misfortune, emblem
of the nation, that living shall die, and dying shall live; that,
trampled by all, shall trample on all; that, bleeding from a thousand
wounds, shall be unhurt; that, beggared, shall wield the wealth of
nations; that, without a name, shall sway the council of kings; that,
without a city, shall inhabit in all the kingdoms; that, scattered like
the dust, shall be bound together like the rock; that, perishing by the
sword, chain, famine, and fire, shall be imperishable, unnumbered,
glorious as the stars of heaven."

I was caught up and swept towards Jerusalem. It was the twilight of a
summer evening. Town and wall lay bathed in a sea of purple; the Temple
rose from its centre like an island of light; the host of Heaven came
riding up the blue fields alone; all was the sweetness, calm, and
splendour of a painted vision. As the night deepened, a murmur from the
city caught my ear; it grew loud, various, wild; it was soon mixed with
the clash of arms; trumpets rang, torches blazed along battlements and
turrets; the roar of battle rose, deepened into cries of agony, swelled
into furious exultation. "Behold," said the possessed, "these are but
the beginnings of evil!" I looked up; the spirit was gone. In another
minute I was plunging into the valley, and rushing forward to the
battle.

From that moment I became a chieftain of Israel, and as Prince of
Naphtali led my people against the legions of Rome. I came to be a
priest, I became a captain. I was ever in the midst of battle; I was
cast into dungeons; brought to the cross; cast among lions; shipwrecked,
driven out to sea on a blazing trireme; accused before Nero and Titus;
exposed a thousand times to death; and yet ever at the extreme moment
some mysterious hand interfered between my life and its destruction. I
could not die.

_III.--The Abomination of Desolation_

And through all these awful years of incessant warfare I was now lifted
up on a wave of victory to heights of dazzling glory, and now plunged
down into the abysm of defeat. I saw my wife and children torn from me;
restored, only to be dragged away again. I saw Rome driven from the Holy
City, only to see her return in triumph. And all through these maddening
vicissitudes, suspected by my own people, and knowing my own infamy, I
heard