m the persecutors of
the young man; coarse laughter again burst from the hall and the insults
recommenced on all sides.

'Oh! the Nazarene, the man of peace, the enemy of war, does not belie
himself; he is a coward and allows himself to be struck in the face.'

'Call your disciples, then; let them come and avenge you if you have not
the courage.'

'His disciples,' said one of the soldiers who had arrested Jesus. 'His
disciples! ah! if you had but seen them! At sight of our lances and our
torches the vagabonds fled like a flight of owls!'

'They were glad enough to escape the tyranny of the Nazarene, who kept
them near him by magic!'

'As a proof that they hate and despise him, not one dared accompany him
hither.'

'Oh!' thought Genevieve, 'how Jesus must suffer from this base
ingratitude of his friends! It must be more cruel than the outrages of
which he is the object.' And turning her head towards the street door,
she saw at a distance Peter, still seated on a bench, his face hidden in
his hands and not having even the courage to assist and defend his kind
master before this tribunal of blood. The tumult produced by the
violence of the officer being somewhat appeased, one of the emissaries
continued in a loud voice:

'I swear, lastly, that this man has horribly blasphemed by saying that
he is Christ, the son of God!'

Then Caiphus, addressing Jesus, said to him in a tone still more
menacing: 'You reply nothing to what these persons say of you?'

But the young man only shrugged his shoulders and still continued
silent. This irritated Caiphus, he rose from his seat and exclaimed,
pointing with his finger to the son of Mary: 'On the part of the living
God, I order you to tell us if you are the Christ, the son of God.'

'You have said it, I am,' replied the young man smiling.

Genevieve had heard Jesus say, that like all men, his brothers, he was a
son of God; just as the Druids teach that all men are sons of the same
God. What then was the surprise of the slave, when she saw the high
priest, when Jesus had replied that he was the son of God, rise up and
tear his robe with all the appearance of horror and alarm, exclaiming,
addressing the members of the tribunal:

'He has blasphemed; what need have we of more witnesses? You,
yourselves, have heard him blaspheme, how do you judge him?'

'He deserves death!'

Such was the reply of all the judges of this court of inquiry. But the
voices of Doctor Baruch and