with his burden, and for a long time bent every energy to restore the
vital warmth—by posture, by friction, by wrapping in rugs, by aiding the
ribs in the scarcely perceptible breathing movement, by fanning—Seti
assisting with advice and hands. It was a hard fight with death; but at
last came signs that their labor would not be in vain. Sextus breathed
regularly though feebly. His throat, which they had laid bare, and which
was all bruised and discolored by the strangling hands of the ruffians,
showed the efforts of the vital fluid to resume a forceful circulation.
At last he moaned and opened his eyes. Opened them on Aleph as he knelt
before him, fanning him, gently adjusting his position and wraps as
usefully as possible. Opened them at first in a vague, bewildered stare
into which soon came a grain of intelligence, then of astonishment,
then of alarm. He tried to raise himself. Aleph gently helped him.
Then followed a fixed gaze of absorbed inquiry in which thought seemed
wrestling with thought, each demanding of each, _What means all this?
Is it possible?_ He then quietly closed his eyes and seemed trying to
recollect himself. Seti and Rachel kept well behind, and watched with
breathless interest. Again Sextus opened his eyes—this time with full
intelligence in them. He tried to speak. No sound came. He tried again.
Aleph put his ear near the struggling lips.
“Are you Aleph the Chaldean?” came in the faintest of whispers.
Aleph nodded.
“Aleph the prisoner?”
Aleph nodded again.
“Did you save me from the men, and the Nile, and—the crocodile?” Sextus
asked in a stronger voice.
“What, did you notice the crocodile?” said Aleph. “I thought you were
beyond noticing anything.”
“I saw him preparing to seize me—saw something worse than a crocodile;
for all my follies and sins of many years, including my treatment of
you, came up before me in one dreadful flash. Ah, it was a dreadful
sight—worse than any monster on sea or land!”
“You see that it is possible to escape from monsters that are very near,”
said Aleph soothingly. “But I would not talk any more just now. You are
too weak. Let me adjust the rugs and wraps more comfortably for you, and
lie down again. You are among friends.”
Sextus bent another long wondering gaze at the noble face that was
bending over him, and then resigned himself with closed eyes to the
gentle hands that laid him carefully down to a smoother and softer
resting place. In a few moments he was asleep.
“Well,” said Seti, with a grave smile, “you _are_ a very strange young
man. Is this the way you treat enemies in your country? If so it is very
unlike any other country that I happen to know. Still, I confess that
the way, unprecedented as it is, has a good look to it, and may be worth
introducing into Egypt.”
“Say not _unprecedented_, my dear grandfather,” said Rachel, “for you
know Deity treats men better than they deserve; and the Christ, it
seems, does the same. How forbearing he is toward his enemies, when he
could so easily overwhelm them!”
Aleph was looking dreamily at the banks now fast gliding by (for the
pinnace was in full motion again and the dawn was kindling all things
into color and beauty), but at the word _Christ_ he turned inquiringly
toward Rachel. She understood him.
“Yes,” she said, “we have something new to tell you about the
Christ—something new and wonderful that comes from a witness that I can
trust—my own mother”—and she proceeded to relate to him the history of
the resurrection of Lazarus and the consequent exasperation and plottings
of his enemies.
“Having had little else to do, I have been thinking much of Him during
the last few days,” returned Aleph, “especially of what the prophets,
Isaiah and Daniel, say of his suffering character. ‘He was wounded for
our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the Lord has
laid on him the iniquities of us all: he was taken from prison and from
judgment, and who shall declare his generation, for he was cut off out
of the land of the living.’ And Daniel says, ‘And after three score and
two weeks shall the Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.’ So I am
expecting the worst and the best—the greatest sacrifice and the greatest
salvation the world has ever seen. Jesus is surely a king; but at present
his kingdom is not of this world. He will pass to his throne through the
gates of death. Then of his kingdom there will be no end.”
He said this as a seer might say it, and with a new light in his face.
Sextus slumbered on, hour after hour, as the vessel glided down the
silent river and the sun glided up the silent sky. Their morning meal was
spread for them and still he slept. But when they raised their heads,
after the priest had thanked Him who giveth to all their food, they saw
that his eyes were wide open and fastened on them. Aleph at once went
to him, helped him to a sitting posture, propped him with cushions and
rugs, and then brought him fruits and other food. He was now able to eat,
though but very slowly. Aleph did not leave him till his slow repast was
quite finished, and he was again settled into a restful position. During
all this he said not a word.
It was not long after the meal and the general religious service that
immediately followed that they saw in the distance and coming toward
them a large galley evidently crowded with people. As it approached they
recognized the young men of the University; and the young men at the
same time recognized the commanding form of Aleph, who had risen for a
better view of the craft in which Seti seemed so interested. What a shout
from young throats suddenly broke into the sky! What a climbing into all
high places and lookouts! What a frantic flourish of hands and caps—yea,
of spears and swords and bucklers; for it was now plain that something
besides a cordial reception of a returning friend was in the thought of
the young men when they left Alexandria. They were prepared to fight as
well as to celebrate.
“Hail Aleph the Chaldean!” Three times they had given this uproarious
greeting with full lungs and wild gesticulations; and there is no telling
when they would have stopped had not Aleph stepped on the bulwark toward
the galley and beckoned to them. They instantly became silent.
“You see, my friends, that the venerable Seti has found me, and found me
safe and sound—thanks to Heaven and him. No matter where, no matter how:
he desires that no questions he asked about these things. My arrest and
abduction were not by the authorities: they were a private enterprise
altogether for which we may hold Draco responsible, if we can lay hands
on him. Apart from him all is buried. Many thanks to you for the generous
interest you have taken in the stranger, for the efforts and pains you
have been at on my account, and of which I have been duly informed. I did
not know when I joined the University what a company of generous and warm
hearted associates I would have. If my arm were long enough I would grasp
the hand of every one of you. Suppose it done till we meet again. Once
more; in return for your warm greetings, I am sure that I can give not
only my own but those of the dear friends in whose hands you see me, and
without whom I should not be here to-day.”
Pausing a moment, he added, “I have a favor to ask. We have with
us a sick friend for whom quiet and rest are needed. For this
and other reasons we propose that you precede or follow us at a
considerable interval; and that we enter the city apart in as quiet and
undemonstrative a way as possible. We can demonstrate at our leisure
hereafter. I certainly shall want to demonstrate my gratitude.”
One great cheer for the speaker; and another for “the empress of
Alexandria” as they now discovered Rachel beneath the curtain which she
had hastily let fall between herself and the approaching galley; and
then the galley silently dropped behind—far behind. But our friends could
hear faintly from it the music of song and instrument, and faintly see
the flutter of banners and streamers of all sorts all the way along the
river and canal. But when they entered the lake they quite lost sight and
hearing of the galley. So the pinnace came quietly to its old moorings.
Up to this time Sextus had sat silent and almost motionless where he had
been placed. He now threw off his wraps and attempted to rise. With the
help of Aleph, who hastened to him, he succeeded; but he was not able to
stand alone.
“I see a close palanquin on the shore,” said Aleph. “I will beckon for
it, and if you somewhat muffle the lower part of your face, you will not
be recognized. I will order the bearers to take you to Bruchium.”
Sextus looked gratefully at him, and said in a low but decisive voice, “I
shall not forget this, as you soon will have occasion to know.”
So they parted with mutual pressure of the hand.
Then Aleph parted from Seti and Rachel—saying to the latter as she
reminded him of his promise to see Miriam, “Shall I also see the empress
of Rome?” His voice was somewhat unsteady.
She hesitated for a moment, and then said, impulsively, “You will never
see her, if earth and Heaven can prevent it;” and her face shone with a
determination that was almost fierce.
“If I only wore a diadem, I know at whose feet it would be laid”—he said
it simply, as to himself.
“Aleph the Chaldean already wears a diadem which the daughter of
Alexander values more than any that will ever shine on the banks of the
Tiber,” was the reply.
What is the use of being a princess and, by invitation, an empress, if
she cannot speak her mind frankly? But what _is_ her mind? Seti might
have used the same words. From his lips they would have meant high
approval and even admiration. Was this all that she meant? Did she
only pay such fitting intellectual tribute to Aleph as one pays to an
admirable statue, to the glorious stars, or to each of a hundred shining
historic persons? We admire them and praise them—but we can live without
them. We can leave the admirable statue in its palace or temple and very
contentedly go about our business, never to see it again. We can praise
Plato to the skies, and yet be quite willing to have him and his Republic
remain some twenty odd centuries away from us. Who has a right to say
that such was not the mind of Rachel?—appreciative, outspoken, Setian,
and—nothing more?
XV.
THE CONFERENCES.
Αυοῖν παρόντων ήμισυς λόγος πάρα.
—ÆSCHYLUS, _Eum._ 428.
_He hears but half who hears one side only._
1. Legal preparations.
2. A mixed cup.
3. A critical conversation.
4. For better or worse?
XV.
THE CONFERENCES.
There were several reasons why the first wonder and rush of surmises
as to the reappearance of Aleph did not last long. They were let alone
severely. And then the rumors of an approaching visit from the Cæsar grew
stronger every day; and all eyes and tongues were strongly drawn toward
the daughter of Alexander and her probable views and feelings as to the
great alliance. In addition, the air was now full of the great trials
that were to come off in a few days—Malus against the two brothers, Malus
against Cimon, and Cimon against Malus. That Malus should venture to
attack anybody was not a matter for surprise; but that anybody should
venture to attack Malus was indeed wonderful. So the city had plenty
to talk about without querying long as to the where and how of Aleph’s
escape, with nobody to answer questions.
The public interest grew exceedingly when it became plain, as it soon
did, that the contest would not be between two individuals, but between
two great parties. On the one side were Malus and the Flacci with
their host of dependents: on the other was Cimon, supported by all the
influence and forces of Seti and Alexander, as well as by the good-will
and prestige and family influence of both branches of the University,
with which Aleph was now unboundedly popular. Though he firmly declined
to give any information as to who the chief criminal in his abduction
was, and what the place of his confinement, and how he was rescued, the
students were not offended—following the lead of Cornelius and a few
others who had specially attached themselves to him, and to whom he
had said that his silence was to save embarrassment to Cimon and other
friends in their affairs. They looked in his face and believed him.
They heard the ring of his voice and were content both with him and
his friend—with Cimon, _because_ he was his friend. As Malus soon had
occasion to know. Not a student entered his warehouse. If one saw him
coming he ostentatiously crossed to the other side of the street. And the
vexed trader was compelled to listen to some serenades that were neither
very musical nor very complimentary. Of all such demonstrations in his
favor, Aleph was ignorant; though he was well aware on what side the
sympathies of his fellow-students were enlisted.
I have said that the public assumed that the Flaccan influence would be
cast in favor of Malus. But one day an event occurred which unsettled
at least the University part of the public on this point. At the close
of one of Seti’s lectures and before the students had left, a herald
appeared at the door and announced his Excellency the Governor. Seti
stepped forward after a very cool and stately fashion to receive the
dignitary; and inquired what he could do to pleasure his Excellency.
His Excellency stated that he was fond of young men, and liked to look
in upon them now and then, in their curriculum; but that his special
object to-day was to congratulate both him and his young friend, who he
believed was called _Aleph the Chaldean_, on the success of the measures
for the rescue of the latter.
“I _do_ congratulate you most heartily, venerable Sir—as I know that you
are much interested in the young man. Is he present?” And Flaccus looked
about on the students as if to discover him.
“Will Aleph the Chaldean come forward?” said Seti: “His Excellency wishes
to congratulate him in person on his safety.”
The young men were too much interested in what was passing to stand on
ceremony. The better to see everything, they stepped on the seats and
pommelled down obnoxious shoulders and heads. And they saw Aleph advance,
not only without embarrassment, but with a grace and even majesty that
would have become a king. And yet the kingly way was so unaffected and so
modest in its expression, as not to be offensive.
“May it please your Excellency,” said Seti with emphasis, “this is the
young man for whom you have asked and whom you authorized us to rescue at
all costs.”
“I am glad I did it. It was one of the best acts of my life,” exclaimed
Flaccus, as he looked up with undisguised astonishment at the figure and
face before him.
Then with some hesitation he continued, “You do not seem, young man, to
have suffered much from your confinement. It could hardly have been very
severe without leaving some marks upon you. I see none whatever. I would
not object to being confined myself if I could reappear in as good a
condition as yours.”
“Still, such a confinement as mine is not one which I can conscientiously
recommend to your Excellency,” returned Aleph. “It had some features
about it rather trying to the average constitution. I think that the
fact that I am here to-day in a sound condition is due to my having a
constitution considerably tougher than the average.”
“No doubt it is so,” said the Roman. “I am glad that you have come off
so well. I have come here to say so; to express my pleasure at your safe
return; to congratulate you upon it; and also to congratulate you on
having secured in so brief a time such warm and most desirable friends as
I see about you. I trust you will count me among them.”
“Aleph the Chaldean accepts with pleasure the kind words which your
Excellency does him the honor of offering; and himself feels that he has
been highly favored in finding in a strange land so many friends whom he
will never be willing or able to forget.”
“I have another object in coming here to-day,” continued Flaccus. “My
son, who is sick, begs that you will visit him at the Cæsareum. Your
nation, I believe, is well versed in leech craft; and perhaps you can
help him. If you will take a seat with me in my chariot it will gratify
both him and me.”
“I will go to your son almost immediately,” said Aleph. “But your
Excellency will excuse me for declining the honor of your chariot. A less
distinguished way of going will better suit my youth and circumstances.”
To say that the students were astonished hardly does the facts justice.
Three things amazed them—that the Governor should take a step so likely
to be understood by the public as against Malus; that Sextus Flaccus,
sick or well, should send for Aleph; and that Aleph should carry himself
in so unembarrassed and independent and yet courtly manner in the
presence of the chief Roman dignitary. It was another revelation to them.
Some of them said, “Plainly, this is not the first time Aleph has dealt
with people in high places—he is too much at home with them to be dealing
with novelties.”
Both that day, and daily for many days afterward, Aleph found his way to
the Cæsareum, and to the slowly recovering Sextus. What was said or done
in these interviews never transpired—at least among the students. I am
not prepared to say but that Seti and Rachel came to know of pleasant and
hopeful things.
Well, it _is_ time to speak again of the lovely Jewess. Of course
Aleph, the very next day after his return, fulfilled his promise to
see Miriam—and all the more readily because Seti had domiciled himself
at Alexander’s until the return of his son in law. He found not only
Miriam but also Seti and Rachel in the family apartment. Great was his
surprise at the gain the nurse had made since he last saw her; and so
he was able to give congratulations as well as receive them. Miriam’s
congratulations, however, were rather lame in the expression; for when
she saw him enter without any sign, even the slightest, of harm from all
that he had passed through, her eyes filled with tears and she scarcely
found voice to say more than, _Thank God_.
“You see,” said Rachel, “that Miriam has wonderfully improved within the
last few days; but I doubt whether you can guess to what the improvement
is owing.”
“The skill of the leech?” suggested Aleph, smiling.
“Nay—as if you did not know her leech!” and she lifted her eyebrows.
“The excellent nursing?”
“By no means—I can speak for that.”
“The _want_ of nursing? The nurse has been busy elsewhere; and so nature
has had a chance to act freely. Excessive care is sometimes as hurtful as
no care at all.”
“Still at fault,” cried the maiden. “Shrewd as you are, you will not
be likely to guess: so I must tell you. She took a new medicine; and
it was _Aleph the Chaldean_. Devising ways and means to get you out of
your difficulties, O much enduring Ulysses, O pious Æneas beaten about
in all seas—this is what has made the change that you see. It is a very
healthful business this rescuing Aleph the Chaldean.”
Then followed a pleasant explanation of the part which Miriam had taken
in the rescue, and such a grateful recognition of it as it deserved.
On the humorous plea that Miriam was indebted to him for her health, and
must make payment for the same in valuable information, Aleph proceeded
to ask her many questions suggested by her former narrative of what she
had heard and seen of Jesus. Rachel joined him in this. As a result they
found not a few difficulties removed or diminished by a better knowledge
of circumstances.
During this questioning and cross questioning Seti sat a silent but alert
listener. Only at the close, when the young people fairly woke up to the
fact that for a long time he had said nothing, and turned deprecatingly
toward him, did he say, “You two would make very respectable advocates.
I hope Marcus Piso will examine witnesses as well in the approaching
trials. I am glad to see that your faith in Jesus does not forget the
claims of reason.”
Here a parcel was brought in and given to Rachel. “From my mother,” she
exclaimed, as she glanced at the superscription. “This doubtless contains
further news of the Christ that will interest us all. Let us see.”
She broke the seals. In a moment she became so absorbed in her reading
that, evidently, she was quite oblivious of her surroundings. Her face
became a mirror behind which appeared the whole changing heaven of her
moods and feelings. The first glance at the letter brought a shadow on
the beaming countenance. As she went on the shadows deepened apace—as
when clouds add themselves to clouds in advance of the storm. At last the
storm itself came. Her face became a picture of mingled astonishment,
compassion, indignation, and dismay. She dropped the letter on the floor,
exclaiming, “_Can it be! Where is the Almighty Avenger!_” And the tears
streamed between her fingers as she buried her face in her hands.
Seti and Aleph had both watched her changing expressions with alarm—had
both risen and were now standing by her side.
“What dreadful thing has happened, my child?” asked Seti.
“They have murdered Him—_murdered_ Him—have murdered the CHRIST!” she
exclaimed: then turning to Aleph, “And you were right. You feared the
worst, and the worst has come. Can there be a bright side to such a
picture?”
She tried to brush away the tears that she might better see the
expression of his face.
He said gently, “I think I can conceive of a brighter side even to such
a terrible picture. But I see that you have not finished your reading.
Perhaps the remainder of the letter will contain the brighter side.” He
took it up from the floor and handed it to her.
Thus encouraged, she resumed her reading. Almost immediately a change
appeared on her face. Her eyes opened widely with a new wonder, and
beamed with a new light. As she went on the shadows thinned away as fast
as they had thickened; the light and sweetness grew apace as does the
fairest morning; and at last the sun rose on every lovely feature as she
finished the manuscript and exclaimed, _God be praised—there is indeed a
brighter side!_
She turned to Aleph, “You are right again. Jesus lives. He has passed
through death to his throne.”
“I do not think,” said he, “that you are now able to read to us the whole
wonderful account as your mother has written it. But perhaps you can
give us a briefer account in your own words—suiting the length to your
strength, and passing lightly over details that have tried you most.”
“I will try. But I think that I could not even do this were it not for
the strength and courage which this last reading has given me.”