o Him, and with honeyed words and deft
insinuations, spoke of allegiance and of the tribute due to Caesar. I
stood not far off and could hear what they said. My very heart seemed to
still its beating, for did not their questions embrace the whole riddle
of mine own life. God and Caesar! I, the servant of Caesar--the recipient
of rich gifts from his hands--should I forswear the Caesar and follow
Jesus of Nazareth?"

"And didst hear what He answered, friend?"

"Aye! I heard it. And to-day when traitors spoke, it seemed as if the
Divine Presence stood close to me amongst the shadows. Once more I saw
the bleak and arid land, the skeleton arms of the trees, the blue
firmament above my head, I saw the multitude of simple folk around Him
and the leer in the eyes of the tempters. And above the din of drunken
revelries to-night I heard again the voice that bade me then to render
unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that
are God's."

The other sighed, a sigh of glad content.

"I thank thee, friend, for telling me this. 'Tis a joy to hear thee
speak of Him. It is so long since we talked of this matter. And--tell me
yet again--thou wast in Jerusalem when He died?"

"I stood on Golgotha," said the praefect slowly, "on that day before the
Jewish Passover, seven years ago. Once again wrapped in a dark cloak,
one among a multitude, I gazed with eyes that I felt could never look on
anything else again. I saw the patient face smeared with blood, the
God-like head crowned with thorns, the eyes--still brimming over with
love--slowly closing in agony. Overhead the heavens murmured, vivid
flashes of lightning rent the canopy of the sky, and men around me
mocked and jeered, whilst the Divine Soul fled upwards back to God. At
that moment, O friend! I seemed to lose mine own identity. I--even I
alone--became the whole multitude. I was no longer just mine own self,
but I was all of us who looked, who heard and saw and did not yet
understand.... A multitude was looking through my eyes ... a multitude
heard through mine ears ... I was the crowd of poor, of helpless
slaves, and I was the whole of the patriciate of Rome. I was barbarian
and Italian, I was British and Roman, all in one ... and my voice was
the voice of the entire world, as suddenly I cried out to Him: 'Do not
die now and leave us desolate!'"

His harsh voice broke down in a great sob that came from out the depths
of an overburdened heart. He took