nd
the Son of God. The Pharisees jeered and made game of them, on account
of the admiration they had formerly expressed for Jesus. 'Look at your
king now,' they exclaimed; 'do homage to him; have you no congratulations
to offer him now that he is about to be crowned , and seated on his
throne? All his boasted miracles are at an end; the High Priest has put
an end to his tricks and witchcraft.'

Notwithstanding the remembrance which these poor people had of the
miracles and wonderful cures which had been performed under their very
eyes by Jesus; notwithstanding the great benefits he had bestowed upon
them, their faith was shaken by beholding him thus derided and pointed
out as an object of contempt by the High Priest and the members of the
Sanhedrin, who were regarded in Jerusalem with the greatest veneration.
Some went away doubting, while others remained and endeavoured to join
the rabble, but they were prevented by the guards, who had been sent by
the Pharisees, to prevent riots and confusion.

CHAPTER XVI.

Description of Pilate's Palace and the adjacent Buildings.

The palace of the Roman governor, Pilate, was built on the
north-west side of the mountain on which the Temple stood, and to reach
it persons were obliged to ascend a flight of marble steps. It
overlooked a large square surrounded by a colonnade, under which the
merchants sat to sell their various commodities. A parapet, and an
entrance at the north, south, east, and west sides alone broke the
uniformity of this part of the market-place, which was called the
forum, and built on higher ground than the adjacent streets, which
sloped down from it. The palace of Pilate was not quite close, but
separated by a large court, the entrance to which at the eastern side
was through a high arch facing a street leading to the door called the
'Probatica,' on the road to the Mount of Olives. The southern entrance was
through another arch, which leads to Sion, in the neighbourhood of the
fortress of Acre. From the top of the marble steps of Pilate's palace,
a person could see across the court as far as the forum, at the
entrance of which a few columns and stone seats were placed. It was at
these seats that the Jewish priests stopped, in order not to defile
themselves by entering the tribunal of Pilate, a line traced on the
pavement of the court indicating the precise boundary beyond which they
could not pass without incurring defilement. There was a large para