o this strait; from
which, as I fear, naught but ruin can arise."

"I thought better things of you, Simon," the rabbi said, angrily.

"But you yourself have told me," Simon urged, "that you thought it
a mad undertaking to provoke the vengeance of Rome."

"I thought so, at first," Solomon admitted, "but now our hand is
placed on the plow, we must not draw back; and I believe that the
God of our fathers will show his might before the heathen."

"I trust that it may be so," Simon said, gravely. "In His hand is
all power. Whether He will see fit to put it forth, now, in our
behalf remains to be seen. However, for the present we need not
concern ourselves greatly with the Romans. It may be long before
they bring an army against us; while these seditions, here, are at
our very door, and ever threaten to involve us in civil war."

"We need fear no civil war," the rabbi said. "The people of all
Galilee, save the violent and ill disposed in a few of the towns,
are all for Josephus. If it comes to force, John and his party know
that they will be swept away, like a straw before the wind. The
fear is that they may succeed in murdering Josephus; either by the
knife of an assassin, or in one of these tumults. They would rather
the latter, because they would then say that the people had torn
him to pieces, in their fury at his misdoings.

"However, we watch over him, as much as we can; and his friends
have warned him that he must be careful, not only for his own sake,
but for that of all the people; and he has promised that, as far as
he can, he will be on his guard against these traitors."

"The governor should have a strong bodyguard," John exclaimed,
impetuously, "as the Roman governors had. In another year, I shall
be of age to have my name inscribed in the list of fighting men;
and I would gladly be one of his guard."

"You are neither old enough to fight, nor to express an opinion
unasked," Simon said, "in the presence of your elders."

"Do not check the boy," the rabbi said. "He has fire and spirit;
and the days are coming when we shall not ask how old, or how
young, are those who would fight, so that they can but hold arms.

"Josephus is wise not to have a military guard, John, because the
people love not such appearance of state. His enemies would use
this as an argument that he was setting himself up above them. It
is partly because he behaves himself discreetly, and goes about
among them like a private person, o