rds that have come down to us, a fierce time of trial
swept like a storm over the little Christian colony in Rome.

In his mad wickedness, the Emperor Nero set fire to his own city so
that he might watch the blaze. Half Rome was burnt, and then he grew
alarmed, for the people were furiously angry at losing their homes. So
he looked round for some one on whom to throw the blame.

In an evil hour he thought of the Christians. 'The Christians plotted
to destroy my city--death to them! Drag them from their houses, burn
them, throw them to wild beasts!'

The order went forth, the excited people were only too ready to obey,
and so the Lord's faithful followers were put to death by hundreds.
Nero prided himself on inventing the most horrible tortures for them.

On one dreadful night he even caused a number of living men and women
to be wrapped in cloths soaked in pitch, tied to the top of long poles,
and then set on fire. This horrible deed was carried out in Nero's own
beautiful gardens, which were thus all lighted up with the glare of the
flames.

But nothing could shake the faith and courage of these saints and
warriors.

'_As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long._'
(Romans viii. 36.) But they feared none of these things; they were
faithful unto death, and the Lord has given them a crown of life.
(Revelation ii. 10.)

[1] Romans ix. 3.

CHAPTER XI

HOW THE GOSPELS CAME TO BE WRITTEN

[Illustration: (drop cap B) Early Christian Lamp]

But how did the story of the Saviour's life on earth come to be written?

We have seen that many years passed before any one thought of writing
it down at all. The men and women who had really seen Him, who had
listened to His voice, looked into His face, and who knew that He had
conquered death and sin for evermore, could not sit down to write, for
their hearts were all on fire to speak.

But as the years passed, the number of those who had seen Christ grew
less, and the need of a written Gospel became ever greater. Precious
words would be forgotten, precious facts passed over, unless they were
collected together and put down in black and white. Some of those,
therefore, who had seen and heard Christ began to write down all they
remembered of His life.

They had no thought, as yet, of a New Testament being added to their
Bible; the Old Testament Scriptures were still the 'Bible'[1] to them.
These early Christians, as we remember, did n