he Jews
exposed their lives on the walls unflinchingly, they were unable to
withstand the terrible shower of missiles poured upon them from the
remaining towers, or to interrupt the steady swing of the huge rams
which, day and night, beat against the walls. One of these,
especially, did material damage; and the Jews themselves christened
it "Nico," or the Conqueror.

At length, wearied out by their efforts, disheartened by the
failure of their attempts to interfere with the work of
destruction, and knowing that the inner lines were vastly stronger
than those without, the Jews abandoned the defense of the tottering
wall, and retired behind their next line of defense The Romans soon
discovered that they were unopposed, and scaled the wall. As soon
as they found that the whole space between it and the second wall
was abandoned, they set to work and threw down a large portion of
the third wall, and took up their post inside. Titus established
himself at the spot known as the camp of the Assyrians, at the foot
of the Tower of Psephinus.

As soon as his arrangements were completed, he gave orders for the
assault to be recommenced. The date of the capture of the outer
wall was on the 6th of May, fifteen days after the commencement of
the siege. The capture of Bezetha, or the new town, enabled the
Romans to make an attack directly on the Palace of Herod, on the
one side, and Mount Moriah upon the other; without first assaulting
the second wall, which defended the inner lower town. But two or
three days' fighting convinced Titus that these positions could not
be successfully attacked, until the lower town was in his power.

The three great towers Phasaelus, Hippicus, and
Mariamne--desperately defended by Simon's soldiers--formed an
impregnable obstacle on the one side; while Antonia, and the steep
ascent up to the Temple platform, was defended with equal
stubbornness, and success, by the soldiers of John of Gischala.
Titus therefore prepared for the assault of the second wall. The
point selected for the attack was the middle tower on the northern
face, close to which were the wool mart, the clothes mart, and the
braziers' shops.

There were no natural obstacles to the approach, and the battering
ram was soon placed in position, while a strong body of archers
prevented the defenders showing themselves above the parapet. The
wall was of far less strength than that which the Romans had before
encountered, and soon began to t