1. And it came to pass, that after I had laid aside my armour, and put
on my pilgrim weeds, that I went forth into the plain, and into the
city.
2. And when I heard the words of the captain of the host, and the
command that he had given, I hasted to the house of Galli the scribe,
and said unto him, Go to, put up all thy money, and thy jewels, and fly
for thy life, for behold evil is determined concerning thee.
3. But he would not hearken to my voice; for he said, I have done no man
wrong.
4. And I intreated him, but prevailed not.
5. Therefore I went unto his daughter, and told her of what I had heard;
and I said, Rise up, make haste and escape, for the soldiers will abuse
thee.
6. And she was afraid, and said unto me, Take me, and hide me for a
short time, for thy words have never deceived me.
7. And I hid her in a palm tree, and remained with her.
8. And the men who belonged to the captain of fifty, even to him whom I
slew in battle, came as they were commanded; and they entered into the
possessions of Galli the scribe, and they took all that he had for a
prey, and burned his house with fire.
9. And we beheld all from our hiding-place, and were greatly astonished;
for we saw Galli the scribe flying through the garden, and the soldiers
pursuing hard after him, with their swords drawn.
10. And when his daughter saw it she shrieked and fainted away; and when
the men heard her voice they looked about, and some of them ran into the
arbour, but they found her not, therefore they pursued after Galli the
scribe.
11. And I trembled sore, for I knew not if we were discovered, neither
could I support the maiden in her seat.
12. For she beheld whose men they were that pursued after her father to
slay him, and she deemed that her captain of fifty had sent out his
fifty to devour them, yea to destroy, and to slay, and to ravage; and
there was no more spirit in her.
13. And I prayed to the Lord my God out from among the branches of the
palm tree, and he heard my voice.
14. For the spoilers came, and they sought, but they found us not.
15. For their eyes were blinded that they could not see. We beheld their
eyes, and heard the threatenings that proceeded out of their mouths, yet
could they not perceive us.
16. And their threatenings were filled with the abominations of
iniquity, for the men were very wicked.
17. And I took her out of the palm tree by night; and I covered her with
my sack-cloth gown, and we tried to fly and make our escape, but she
could not; therefore my distress was very great.
18. And I carried her to the house of a poor widow in the suburbs of the
city, and I concealed her there till her strength should recover.
19. And I went about making many inquiries; and I heard that the
soldiers had taken Galli the scribe, and had given him up to be
persecuted, and tormented, and slain; also that the whole army were
abroad searching to recover his daughter, to execute vengeance on her.
20. And I was grieved for that I had done, and for bringing evil on
those I loved; for I knew that the men of the host spoiled the people,
and did according to their will.
22. So I borrowed me a pilgrim's robes, and in these I equipped the
maiden; and when she was clothed in her flowing sack-cloth gown, with
her cross, scallop, and shell, behold I myself could not discern her.
22. And we escaped from the city by night, and journeyed toward the
north, and at break of day we came to the fords of the great river,
where we were encountered by three of the soldiers of the guard, who
waylaid us.
23. And I said unto them, Whom seek ye? And they said, We be sent out to
seek the daughter of Galli the scribe, for she hath betrayed one of the
captains into her nets, and hath robbed him, and also caused him to be
cut off from his men; therefore are we sent out to take her, that she
may be delivered into the hands of his men, that they may do to her as
seemeth good in their eyes.
24. And the maiden trembled, so that the men beheld it; and I turned and
said unto her, Said I not that it was so?
25. And I said furthermore, Sit thee down, my brother, until we converse
with these men, for they are good men, and filled with wisdom; and lo,
have not I strange things to relate unto them?
26. And the men sat down, and we sat down beside them.
27. And I said, We are pilgrims and strangers, and come from a far
country. And they said, Peace be unto you.
28. And I said, moreover, that it was given unto me to dream dreams, and
to see visions, and that I had a vision of my head upon my bed, which
was of this Galli the scribe of whom they spake.
29. For I saw and beheld that he had put forth his hand on a captain of
the servants of my lord the king, and had sent forth his bravadoes, who
had wounded him until the sword passed through him, even from the left
side unto the right. And the men said, Is not this wonderful?
30. And behold I saw the servants of my lord the king enter the
dwelling of the man, even of the scribe, and take his goods, and him
they pursued with the edge of the sword, and took by the vineyard as
thou goest down towards a river.
31. And they burned his house with fire, so that the flames ascended up
on high; and his daughter who was sick, and concealed in an inner
chamber, her also did they burn until she was quite consumed.
32. And the men wondered exceedingly; and they bowed down their heads
and said, Thou hast told unto us strange things. It is even as thou hast
said. Go on your way.
33. And I blessed them; and they returned to tell unto their captains
the wonderful things which they had heard.
34. And I fled with the damsel until I came to the sea; and when we had
found a ship we went into it, and I brought her to my own country, but
not to my kindred, for I placed her in the holy isle near the river of
the north.
35. And she mourned night and day for her father, and also for the
captain of fifty, whom she called her husband; for she dreaded that
some evil had befallen unto him.
36. For, on the day that he had sworn to her, he had given her a graven
image, which she kept hid in her bosom, and she wept over it and kissed
it.
37. And I was grieved, and rebuked her, but she refused to be comforted;
and I went and came and brought her of the good things of the land, for
I loved her as the breath of my nostrils.
38. And when the days of her months were fulfilled, behold she brought
forth a daughter.
39. And the babe was also beautiful to look upon. And the bosom of the
mother yearned over her child, and she called her by her father's name,
even by the name of the captain of fifty.
40. And she kissed her child, and wept over it day and night; but the
frame and substance of her body were wasted away with perpetual grief,
and I saw that the child would die.
41. And, when I saw the countenance that was once beautiful as the
morning bathed in tears, as her babe lay at a breast in which there was
no nourishment, I was exceedingly sorry even unto death.
42. And lo, I took the child and nourished it; yea I fed it with bread
and with wine, with butter also, and with honey and milk from the beasts
of the field; and the child was restored.
43. But the mother decayed like a flower that is cut down; for the winds
of grief had passed over her, and her spirit was consumed. The summer
came, and all the herbs of the field were renewed, but the fairest
flower of the land was bending down to meet the clay.