hn at Casarea,
and to escort him to his own home, or as near as he might choose to
take them. Titus took a cordial leave of him, and expressed a hope
that John would, some day, change his mind and accept his offer of
a post; and that, at any rate, he hoped that he would, from time to
time, come to Rome to see him.

The voyage to Caesarea was performed without accident.

"I shall look back at our visit to Rome as a dream," Jonas said,
one evening, as they sat together on the deck of the ship. "To
think that I, the goatherd of Jotapata, should have been living in
the palace of Caesar, at Rome; with you, the friend of Titus,
himself! It seems marvellous; but I am weary of the crowded
streets, of the noise, and bustle, and wealth and colour. I long to
get rid of this dress, in which I feel as if I were acting a part
in a play.

"Do not you, John?"

"I do, indeed," John replied. "I should never accustom myself to
such a life as that. I am longing for a sight of the lake, and my
dear home; and of those I love, who must be mourning for me, as
dead."

At Caesarea, a vehicle was procured for the carriage of the chest,
and the party then journeyed until they were within sight of
Tarichea. John then dismissed his escort, with thanks for their
attention during the journey, and begged them to go on to the city
by themselves. When they were out of sight, he and Jonas took off
their Roman garments, and put on others they had purchased at
Caesarea, similar to those they were accustomed to wear at home.
Then they proceeded, with the cart and its driver, into Tarichea;
and hired a boat to take them up the lake. The boatmen were
astonished at the weight of John's chest, and thought that it must
contain lead, for making into missiles for slingers.

It was evening when the boat approached the well-known spot, and
John and his companion sprang out on the beach.

"What shall we do with the chest?" one of the boatmen asked.

"We will carry it to that clump of bushes, and pitch it in among
them, until we want it. None will run off with it, and they
certainly would not find it easy to break it open."

This reply confirmed the men in their idea that it could contain
nothing of value and, after helping John and Jonas to carry the
chest to the point indicated, they returned to their boat and rowed
away down the lake.

"Now, Jonas, we must be careful," John said, "how we approach the
house. It would give them a terrible shock, if I ca