se of human beings, who did not offer one blow in return.
They slaughtered them like sheep; they trampled them down; they threw the
bodies of the wounded over the walls. Attempting to run back, numbers of
the poor wretches came into conflict with the ranks behind them, and an
additional scene of confusion and overthrow took place; many of them
straggled over to the open country or woods, and perished, either from the
weather, or from hunger, or even from the wild beasts. Others, weakened by
excess and famine, fell a prey to the pestilence that was raging. After
some days a remnant of them was allowed silently and timidly to steal back
into the city as best they could. It was a long day before the Plebs
Siccensis ventured to have any opinion of its own upon the subject of
Christianity, or any other political, social, or ecclesiastical topic
whatever.

CHAPTER XXI.

STARTLING RUMOURS.

When Jucundus rose next morning, and heard the news, he considered it to
be more satisfactory than he could have supposed possible. He was a
zealous imperialist, and a lover of tranquillity, a despiser of the
natives and a hater of the Christians. The Christians had suffered enough
to vindicate the Roman name, to deter those who were playing at
Christianity, and to show that the people of Sicca had their eyes about
them. And the mob had received a severe lesson too; and the cause of
public order had triumphed, and civic peace was re-established. His
anxiety, too, about Agellius had terminated, or was terminating. He had
privately denounced him to the government, come to an understanding with
the military authorities, and obtained the custody of him. He had met him
at the very door to which the boy Firmian brought him, with an apparitor
of the military staff (or what answered to it), and had clapped him into
prison in an underground cellar in which he kept damaged images, and those
which had gone out of fashion, and were otherwise unsaleable. He was not
at all sorry, by some suffering, and by some fright, to aid the more
potent incantation which Callista was singing in his ears. He did not,
however, at all forget Juba's hint, and was careful not to overdo the
rack-and-gridiron dodge, if we may so designate it; yet he thought just a
flavour or a thought of the inconveniences which the profession of
Christianity involved might be a salutary reflection in the midst of the