1 files changed, 1955 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/old/1291.txt b/old/1291.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4b6f8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/1291.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,1955 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Herodias, by Gustave Flaubert
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Herodias
+
+Author: Gustave Flaubert
+
+Release Date: February 11, 2006 [EBook #1291]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HERODIAS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by John Bickers and David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+HERODIAS
+
+By Gustave Flaubert
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+In the eastern side of the Dead Sea rose the citadel of Machaerus. It
+was built upon a conical peak of basalt, and was surrounded by four deep
+valleys, one on each side, another in front, and the fourth in the rear.
+At the base of the citadel, crowding against one another, a group of
+houses stood within the circle of a wall, whose outlines undulated with
+the unevenness of the soil. A zigzag road, cutting through the rocks,
+joined the city to the fortress, the walls of which were about one
+hundred and twenty cubits high, having numerous angles and ornamental
+towers that stood out like jewels in this crown of stone overhanging an
+abyss.
+
+Within the high walls stood a palace, adorned with many richly carved
+arches, and surrounded by a terrace that on one side of the building
+spread out below a wide balcony made of sycamore wood, upon which tall
+poles had been erected to support an awning.
+
+One morning, just before sunrise, the tetrarch, Herod-Antipas, came out
+alone upon the balcony. He leaned against one of the columns and looked
+about him.
+
+The crests of the hill-tops in the valley below the palace were just
+discernible in the light of the false dawn, although their bases,
+extending to the abyss, were still plunged in darkness. A light mist
+floated in the air; presently it lifted, and the shores of the Dead Sea
+became visible. The sun, rising behind Machaerus, spread a rosy flush
+over the sky, lighting up the stony shores, the hills, and the desert,
+and illuming the distant mountains of Judea, rugged and grey in the
+early dawn. En-gedi, the central point of the group, threw a deep black
+shadow; Hebron, in the background, was round-topped like a dome; Eschol
+had her pomegranates, Sorek her vineyards, Carmel her fields of sesame;
+and the tower of Antonia, with its enormous cube, dominated Jerusalem.
+The tetrarch turned his gaze from it to contemplate the palms of Jericho
+on his right; and his thoughts dwelt upon other cities of his beloved
+Galilee,--Capernaum, Endor, Nazareth, Tiberias--whither it might be he
+would never return.
+
+The Jordan wound its way through the arid plains that met his gaze;
+white and glittering under the clear sky, it dazzled the eye like snow
+in the rays of the sun.
+
+The Dead Sea now looked like a sheet of lapis-lazuli; and at its
+southern extremity, on the coast of Yemen, Antipas recognised clearly
+what at first he had been able only dimly to perceive. Several tents
+could now be plainly seen; men carrying spears were moving about among a
+group of horses; and dying camp-fires shone faintly in the beams of the
+rising sun.
+
+This was a troop belonging to the sheikh of the Arabs, the daughter
+of whom the tetrarch had repudiated in order to wed Herodias, already
+married to one of his brothers, who lived in Italy but who had no
+pretensions to power.
+
+Antipas was waiting for assistance and reinforcements from the Romans,
+but as Vitellius, the Governor of Syria, had not yet arrived, he was
+consumed with impatience and anxiety. Perhaps Agrippa had ruined his
+cause with the Emperor, he thought. Philip, his third brother, sovereign
+of Batania, was arming himself clandestinely. The Jews were becoming
+intolerant of the tetrarch's idolatries; he knew that many were weary of
+his rule; and he hesitated now between adopting one of two projects: to
+conciliate the Arabs and win back their allegiance, or to conclude
+an alliance with the Parthians. Under the pretext of celebrating his
+birthday, he had planned to bring together, at a grand banquet,
+the chiefs of his troops, the stewards of his domains, and the most
+important men from the region about Galilee.
+
+Antipas threw a keen glance along all the roads leading to Machaerus.
+They were deserted. Eagles were sweeping through the air high above his
+head; the soldiers of the guard, placed at intervals along the ramparts,
+slept or dozed, leaning against the walls; all was silent within the
+castle.
+
+Suddenly he heard the sound of a distant voice, seeming to come from
+the very depths of the earth. His cheek paled. After an instant's
+hesitation, he leaned far over the balcony railing, listening intently,
+but the voice had died away. Presently it rose again upon the quiet air;
+Antipas clapped his hands together loudly, crying: "Mannaeus! Mannaeus!"
+
+Instantly a man appeared, naked to the waist, after the fashion of a
+masseur at the bath. Although emaciated, and somewhat advanced in years,
+he was a giant in stature, and on his hip he wore a cutlass in a bronze
+scabbard. His bushy hair, gathered up and held in place by a kind of
+comb, exaggerated the apparent size of his massive head. His eyes were
+heavy with sleep, but his white teeth shone, his step was light on the
+flagstones, and his body had the suppleness of an ape, although his
+countenance was as impassive as that of a mummy.
+
+"Where is he?" demanded the tetrarch of this strange being.
+
+Mannaeus made a movement over his shoulder with his thumb, saying:
+
+"Over there--still there!"
+
+"I thought I heard him cry out."
+
+And Antipas, after drawing a deep breath, asked for news of Iaokanann,
+afterwards known as St. John the Baptist. Had he been allowed to see the
+two men who had asked permission to visit his dungeon a few days before,
+and since that time, had any one discovered for what purpose the men
+desired to see him?
+
+"They exchanged some strange words with him," Mannaeus replied, "with
+the mysterious air of robbers conspiring at the cross-roads. Then they
+departed towards Upper Galilee, saying that they were the bearers of
+great tidings."
+
+Antipas bent his head for a moment; then raising it quickly, said in a
+tone full of alarm:
+
+"Guard him! watch him well! Do not allow any one else to see him. Keep
+the gates shut and the entrance to the dungeon closed fast. It must not
+even be suspected that he still lives!"
+
+Mannaeus had already attended to all these details, because Iaokanann
+was a Jew, and, like all the Samaritans, Mannaeus hated the Jews.
+
+Their temple on the Mount of Gerizim, which Moses had designed to be the
+centre of Israel, had been destroyed since the reign of King Hyrcanus;
+and the temple at Jerusalem made the Samaritans furious; they regarded
+its presence as an outrage against themselves, and a permanent
+injustice. Mannaeus, indeed, had forcibly entered it, for the purpose of
+defiling its altar with the bones of corpses. Several of his companions,
+less agile than he, had been caught and beheaded.
+
+From the tetrarch's balcony, the temple was visible through an opening
+between two hills. The sun, now fully risen, shed a dazzling splendour
+on its walls of snowy marble and the plates of purest gold that formed
+its roof. The structure shone like a luminous mountain, and its radiant
+purity indicated something almost superhuman, eclipsing even its
+suggestion of opulence and pride.
+
+Mannaeus stretched out his powerful arm towards Zion, and, with clenched
+fist and his great body drawn to its full height, he launched a bitter
+anathema at the city, with perfect faith that eventually his curse must
+be effective.
+
+Antipas listened, without appearing to be shocked at the strength of the
+invectives.
+
+When the Samaritan had become somewhat calmer, he returned to the
+subject of the prisoner.
+
+"Sometimes he grows excited," said he, "then he longs to escape or talks
+about a speedy deliverance. At other times he is as quiet as a sick
+animal, although I often find him pacing to and fro in his gloomy
+dungeon, murmuring, 'In order that His glory may increase, mine must
+diminish.'"
+
+Antipas and Mannaeus looked at each other a moment in silence. But the
+tetrarch was weary of pondering on this troublesome matter.
+
+The mountain peaks surrounding the palace, looking like great petrified
+waves, the black depths among the cliffs, the immensity of the blue sky,
+the rising sun, and the gloomy valley of the abyss, filled the soul of
+Antipas with a vague unrest; he felt an overwhelming sense of oppression
+at the sight of the desert, whose uneven piles of sand suggested
+crumbling amphitheaters or ruined palaces. The hot wind brought an odour
+of sulphur, as if it had rolled up from cities accursed and buried
+deeper than the river-bed of the slow-running Jordan.
+
+These aspects of nature, which seemed to his troubled fancy signs of
+the wrath of the gods, terrified him, and he leaned heavily against the
+balcony railing, his eyes fixed, his head resting upon his hands.
+
+Presently he felt a light touch upon his shoulder. He turned, and saw
+Herodias standing beside him. A purple robe enveloped her, falling to
+her sandaled feet. Having left her chamber hurriedly, she wore no jewels
+nor other ornaments. A thick tress of rippling black hair hung over her
+shoulder and hid itself in her bosom; her nostrils, a little too large
+for beauty, quivered with triumph, and her face was alight with joy. She
+gently shook the tetrarch's shoulder, and exclaimed exultantly:
+
+"Caesar is our friend! Agrippa has been imprisoned!"
+
+"Who told thee that?"
+
+"I know it!" she replied, adding: "It was because he coveted the crown
+of Caligula."
+
+While living upon the charity of Antipas and Herodias, Agrippa had
+intrigued to become king, a title for which the tetrarch was as eager as
+he. But if this news were true, no more was to be feared from Agrippa's
+scheming.
+
+"The dungeons of Tiberias are hard to open, and sometimes life itself is
+uncertain within their depths," said Herodias, with grim significance.
+
+Antipas understood her; and, although she was Agrippa's sister, her
+atrocious insinuation seemed entirely justifiable to the tetrarch.
+Murder and outrage were to be expected in the management of political
+intrigues; they were a part of the fatal inheritance of royal houses;
+and in the family of Herodias nothing was more common.
+
+Then she rapidly unfolded to the tetrarch the secrets of her recent
+undertakings, telling him how many men had been bribed, what letters had
+been intercepted, and the number of spies stationed at the city gates.
+She did not hesitate even to tell him of her success in an attempt to
+befool and seduce Eutyches the denunciator.
+
+"And why should I not?" she said; "it cost me nothing. For thee, my
+lord, have I not done more than that? Did I not even abandon my child?"
+
+After her divorce from Philip, she had indeed left her daughter in Rome,
+hoping that, as the wife of the tetrarch, she might bear other children.
+Until that moment she had never spoken to Antipas of her daughter. He
+asked himself the reason for this sudden display of tenderness.
+
+During their brief conversation several attendants had come out upon
+the balcony; one slave brought a quantity of large, soft cushions, and
+arranged them in a kind of temporary couch upon the floor behind his
+mistress. Herodias sank upon them, and turning her face away from
+Antipas, seemed to be weeping silently. After a few moments she dried
+her eyes, declared that she would dream no more, and that she was, in
+reality, perfectly happy. She reminded Antipas of their former long
+delightful interviews in the atrium; their meetings at the baths; their
+walks along the Sacred Way, and the sweet evening rendezvous at the
+villa, among the flowery groves, listening to the murmur of splashing
+fountains, within sight of the Roman Campagna. Her glances were as
+tender as in former days; she drew near to him, leaned against his
+breast and caressed him fondly.
+
+But he repelled her soft advances. The love she sought to rekindle had
+died long ago. He thought instead of all his misfortunes, and of the
+twelve long years during which the war had continued. Protracted anxiety
+had visibly aged the tetrarch. His shoulders were bent beneath his
+violet-bordered toga; his whitening locks were long and mingled with his
+beard, and the sunlight revealed many lines upon his brow, as well as
+upon that of Herodias. After the tetrarch's repulse of his wife's tender
+overtures, the pair gazed morosely at each other.
+
+The mountain paths began to show signs of life. Shepherds were driving
+their flocks to pasture; children urged heavy-laden donkeys along the
+roads; while grooms belonging to the palace led the horses to the river
+to drink. The wayfarers descending from the heights on the farther side
+of Machaerus disappeared behind the castle; others ascended from the
+valleys, and after arriving at the palace deposited their burdens in the
+courtyard. Many of these were purveyors to the tetrarch; others were the
+servants of his expected guests, arriving in advance of their masters.
+
+Suddenly, at the foot of the terrace on the left, an Essene appeared; he
+wore a white robe, his feet were bare, and his demeanour indicated that
+he was a follower of the Stoics. Mannaeus instantly rushed towards the
+stranger, drawing the cutlass that he wore upon his hip.
+
+"Kill him!" cried Herodias.
+
+"Do not touch him!" the tetrarch commanded.
+
+The two men stood motionless for an instant, then they descended the
+terrace, both taking a different direction, although they kept their
+eyes fixed upon each other.
+
+"I know that man," said Herodias, after they had disappeared. "His name
+is Phanuel, and he will try to seek out Iaokanann, since thou wert so
+foolish as to allow him to live."
+
+Antipas said that the man might some day be useful to them. His attacks
+upon Jerusalem would gain them the allegiance of the rest of the Jews.
+
+"No," said Herodias, "the Jews will accept any master, and are incapable
+of feeling any true patriotism." She added that, as for the man who was
+trying to influence the people with hopes cherished since the days of
+Nehemiah, the best policy was to suppress him.
+
+The tetrarch replied that there was no haste about the matter, and
+expressed his doubt that any real danger was to be feared from Iaokanann
+even affecting to laugh at the idea.
+
+"Do not deceive thyself!" exclaimed Herodias. And she retold the story
+of her humiliation one day when she was travelling towards Gilead, in
+order to purchase some of the balm for which that region was famous.
+
+"A multitude was standing on the banks of the stream, my lord; many
+of the people were putting on their raiment. Standing on a hillock, a
+strange man was speaking to the gathering. A camel's-skin was wrapped
+about his loins, and his head was like that of a lion. As soon as he saw
+me, he launched in my direction all the maledictions of the prophets.
+His eyes flamed, his voice shook, he raised his arms as if he would draw
+down lightning upon my head. I could not fly from him; the wheels of my
+chariot sank in the sand up to the middle; and I could only crawl along,
+hiding my head with my mantle, and frozen with terror at the curses that
+poured upon me like a storm from heaven!"
+
+Continuing her harangue, she declared that the knowledge that this man
+still existed poisoned her very life. When he had been seized and bound
+with cords, the soldiers were prepared to stab him if he resisted, but
+he had been quite gentle and obedient. After he had been thrown into
+prison some one had put venomous serpents into his dungeon, but strange
+to say, after a time they had died, leaving him uninjured. The inanity
+of such tricks exasperated Herodias. Besides, she inquired, why did
+this man make war upon her? What interest moved him to such actions? His
+injurious words to her, uttered before a throng of listeners, had been
+repeated and widely circulated; she heard them whispered everywhere.
+Against a legion of soldiers she would have been brave; but this
+mysterious influence, more pernicious and powerful than the sword, but
+impossible to grasp, was maddening! Herodias strode to and fro upon the
+terrace, white with rage, unable to find words to express the emotions
+that choked her.
+
+She had a haunting fear that the tetrarch might listen to public opinion
+after a time, and persuade himself it was his duty to repudiate her.
+Then, indeed, all would be lost! Since early youth she had cherished a
+dream that some day she would rule over a great empire. As an important
+step towards attaining this ambition, she had deserted Philip, her first
+husband, and married the tetrarch, who now she thought had duped her.
+
+"Ah! I found a powerful support, indeed, when I entered thy family!" she
+sneered.
+
+"It is at least the equal of thine," Antipas replied.
+
+Herodias felt the blood of the kings and priests, her ancestors, boiling
+in her veins.
+
+"Thy grandfather was a servile attendant upon the temple of Ascalon!"
+she went on, with fury. "Thy other ancestors were shepherds, bandits,
+conductors of caravans, a horde of slaves offered as tribute to King
+David! My forefathers were the conquerors of thine! The first of the
+Maccabees drove thy people out of Hebron; Hyrcanus forced them to be
+circumcised!" Then, with all the contempt of the patrician for the
+plebeian, the hatred of Jacob for Esau, she reproached him for his
+indifference towards palpable outrages to his dignity, his weakness
+regarding the Phoenicians, who had been false to him, and his cowardly
+attitude towards the people who detested and insulted herself.
+
+"But thou art like them!" she cried; "Dost regret the loss of the Arab
+girl who danced upon these very pavements? Take her back! Go and live
+with her--in her tent! Eat her bread, baked in the ashes! Drink curdled
+sheep's-milk! Kiss her dark cheeks--and forget me!"
+
+The tetrarch had already forgotten her presence, it appeared. He paid no
+further heed to her anger, but looked intently at a young girl who had
+just stepped out upon the balcony of a house not far away. At her side
+stood an elderly female slave, who held over the girl's head a kind of
+parasol with a handle made of long, slender reeds. In the middle of
+the rug spread upon the floor of the balcony stood a large open
+travelling-hamper or basket, and girdles, veils, head-dresses, and gold
+and silver ornaments were scattered about in confusion. At intervals
+the young girl took one object or another in her hands, and held it up
+admiringly. She was dressed in the costume of the Roman ladies, with a
+flowing tunic and a peplum ornamented with tassels of emeralds; and blue
+silken bands confined her hair, which seemed almost too luxuriant, since
+from time to time she raised a small hand to push back the heavy masses.
+The parasol half hid the maiden from the gaze of Antipas, but now and
+then he caught a glimpse of her delicate neck, her large eyes, or a
+fleeting smile upon her small mouth. He noted that her figure swayed
+about with a singularly elastic grace and elegance. He leaned forward,
+his eyes kindled, his breath quickened. All this was not lost upon
+Herodias, who watched him narrowly.
+
+"Who is that maiden?" the tetrarch asked at last.
+
+Herodias replied that she did not know, and her fierce demeanour
+suddenly changed to one of gentleness and amiability.
+
+At the entrance to the castle the tetrarch was awaited by several
+Galileans, the master of the scribes, the chief of the land stewards,
+the manager of the salt mines, and a Jew from Babylon, commanding his
+troops of horse. As the tetrarch approached the group, he was greeted
+with respectful enthusiasm. Acknowledging the acclamations with a grave
+salute, he entered the castle.
+
+As he proceeded along one of the corridors, Phanuel suddenly sprang from
+a corner and intercepted him.
+
+"What! Art thou still here?" said the tetrarch in displeasure. "Thou
+seekest Iaokanann, no doubt."
+
+"And thyself, my lord. I have something of great importance to tell
+thee."
+
+At a sign from Antipas, the Essene followed him into a somewhat dark and
+gloomy room.
+
+The daylight came faintly through a grated window. The walls were of a
+deep shade of crimson, so dark as to look almost black. At one end of
+the room stood an ebony bed, ornamented with bands of leather. A
+shield of gold, hanging at the head of the bed, shone like a sun in the
+obscurity of the apartment. Antipas crossed over to the couch and threw
+himself upon it in a half-reclining attitude, while Phanuel remained
+standing before him. Suddenly he raised one hand, and striking a
+commanding attitude said:
+
+"At times, my lord, the Most High sends a message to the people through
+one of His sons. Iaokanann is one of these. If thou oppress him, thou
+shalt be punished!"
+
+"But it is he that persecutes me!" exclaimed Antipas. "He asked me to do
+a thing that was impossible. Since then he has done nothing but revile
+me. And I was not severe with him when he began his abuse of me. But
+he had the hardihood to send various men from Machaerus to spread
+dissension and discontent throughout my domain. A curse upon him! Since
+he attacks me, I shall defend myself."
+
+"Without doubt, he has expressed his anger with too much violence,"
+Phanuel replied calmly. "But do not heed that further. He must be set
+free."
+
+"One does not let loose a furious animal," said the tetrarch.
+
+"Have no fear of him now," was the quick reply. "He will go straight to
+the Arabs, the Gauls, and the Scythians. His work must be extended to
+the uttermost ends of the earth."
+
+For a moment Antipas appeared lost in thought, as one who sees a vision.
+Then he said:
+
+"His power over men is indeed great. In spite of myself, I admire him!"
+
+"Then set him free!"
+
+But the tetrarch shook his head. He feared Herodias, Mannaeus, and
+unknown dangers.
+
+Phanuel tried to persuade him, promising, as a guaranty of the honesty
+of his projects, the submission of the Essenians to the King. These poor
+people, clad only in linen, untameable in spite of severe treatment,
+endowed with the power to divine the future by reading the stars, had
+succeeded in commanding a certain degree of respect.
+
+"What is the important matter thou wouldst communicate to me?" Antipas
+inquired, with sudden recollection.
+
+Before Phanuel could reply, a Negro entered the room in great haste. He
+was covered with dust, and panted so violently that he could scarcely
+utter the single word:
+
+"Vitellus!"
+
+"Has he arrived?" asked the tetrarch.
+
+"I have seen him, my lord. Within three hours he will be here."
+
+Throughout the palace, doors were opening and closing and portieres were
+swaying as if in a high wind, with the coming and going of many persons;
+there was a murmur of voices; sounds of the moving of heavy furniture
+could be heard, and the rattle of silver plates and dishes. From the
+highest tower a loud blast upon a conch summoned from far and near all
+the slaves belonging to the castle.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+The ramparts were thronged with people when at last Vitellius entered
+the castle gates, leaning on the arm of his interpreter. Behind them
+came an imposing red litter, decorated with plumes and mirrors. The
+proconsul wore a toga ornamented with the laticlave, a broad purple band
+extending down the front of the garment, indicating his rank; and his
+feet were encased in the kind of buskins worn by consuls. A guard
+of lictors surrounded him. Against the wall they placed their twelve
+fasces--a bundle of sticks with an axe in the centre. And the populace
+trembled before the insignia of Roman majesty.
+
+The gorgeous litter, borne by eight men, came to a halt. From it
+descended a youth. He wore many pearls upon his fingers, but he had
+a protruding abdomen and his face was covered with pimples. A cup of
+aromatic wine was offered to him. He drank it, and asked for a second
+draught.
+
+The tetrarch had fallen upon his knees before the proconsul, saying that
+he was grieved beyond words not to have known sooner of the favour of
+his presence within those domains; had he been aware of the approach
+of his distinguished guest, he would have issued a command that every
+person along the route should place himself at the proconsul's orders.
+Of a surety, the proconsul's family was descended direct from the
+goddess Vitellia. A highway, leading from the Janiculum to the sea,
+still bore their name. Questors and consuls were innumerable in that
+great family; and as for the noble Lucius, now his honoured guest, it
+was the duty of the whole people to thank him, as the conqueror of
+the Cliti and the father of the young Aulus, now returning to his own
+domain, since the East was the country of the gods. These hyperboles
+were expressed in Latin, and Vitellius accepted them impassively.
+
+He replied that the great Herod was the honour and glory of the nation;
+that the Athenians had chosen him to direct the Olympian games; that
+he had built temples in the honour of Augustus; had been patient,
+ingenious, terrible; and was faithful to all the Caesars.
+
+Between the two marble columns, with bronze capitals, Herodias could now
+be seen advancing with the air of an empress, in the midst of a group
+of women and eunuchs carrying perfumed torches set in sockets of
+silver-gilt.
+
+The proconsul advanced three steps to meet her. She saluted him with an
+inclination of her head.
+
+"How fortunate," she exclaimed, "that henceforth Agrippa, the enemy of
+Tiberius, can work harm no longer!"
+
+Vitellius did not understand her allusion, but he thought her a
+dangerous woman. Antipas immediately declared that he was ready to do
+anything for the emperor.
+
+"Even to the injury of others?" Vitellius asked, significantly.
+
+He had taken hostages from the king of the Parthians, but the emperor
+had given no further thought to the matter, because Antipas, who had
+been present at the conference, had, in order to gain favour, sent off
+despatches bearing the news. From that time he had borne a profound
+hatred towards the emperor and had delayed in sending assistance to him.
+
+The tetrarch stammered in attempting to reply to the query of the
+proconsul. But Aulus laughed and said: "Do not be disturbed. I will
+protect thee!"
+
+The proconsul feigned not to hear this remark. The fortune of the father
+depended, in a way, on the corrupt influence of the son; and through him
+it was possible that Antipas might be able to procure for the proconsul
+very substantial benefits, although the glances that he cast about him
+were defiant, and even venomous.
+
+But now a new tumult arose just within the gates. A file of white mules
+entered the courtyard, mounted by men in priestly garb. These were the
+Sadducees and the Pharisees, who were drawn to Machaerus by the same
+ambition: the one party hoping to be appointed public sacrificers,
+the other determined to retain those offices. Their faces were dark,
+particularly those of the Pharisees, who were enemies of Rome and of the
+tetrarch. The flowing skirts of their tunics embarrassed their movements
+as they attempted to pass through the throng; and their tiaras sat
+unsteadily upon their brows, around which were bound small bands of
+parchment, showing lines of writing.
+
+Almost at the same moment, the soldiers of the advance guard arrived.
+Cloth coverings had been drawn over their glittering shields to
+protect them from the dust. Behind them came Marcellus, the proconsul's
+lieutenant, followed by the publicans, carrying their tablets of wood
+under their arms.
+
+Antipas named to Vitellius the principle personages surrounding them:
+Tolmai, Kanthera, Schon, Ammonius of Alexandria, who brought asphalt for
+Antipas; Naaman, captain of his troops of skirmishers, and Jacim, the
+Babylonian.
+
+Vitellius had noticed Mannaeus.
+
+"Who is that man?" he inquired.
+
+The tetrarch by a significant gesture indicated that Mannaeus was the
+executioner. He then presented the Sadducees to the proconsul's notice.
+
+Jonathas, a man of low stature, who spoke Greek, advanced with a firm
+step and begged that the great lord would honour Jerusalem with a visit.
+Vitellius replied that he should probably go to Jerusalem soon.
+
+Eleazar, who had a crooked nose and a long beard, put forth a claim, in
+behalf of the Pharisees, for the mantle of the high priest, held in the
+tower of Antonia by the civil authorities.
+
+Then the Galileans came forward and denounced Pontius Pilate. On one
+occasion, they said, a mad-man went seeking in a cave near Samaria for
+the golden vases that had belonged to King David, and Pontius Pilate
+had caused several inhabitants of that region to be executed. In their
+excitement all the Galileans spoke at once, Mannaeus's voice being heard
+above all others. Vitellius promised that the guilty ones should be
+punished.
+
+Fresh vociferations now broke out in front of the great gates, where
+the soldiers had hung their shields. Their coverings having now been
+removed, on each shield a carving of the head of Caesar could be seen
+on the umbo, or central knob. To the Jews, this seemed an evidence of
+nothing short of idolatry. Antipas harangued them, while Vitellius,
+who occupied a raised seat within the shadow of the colonnade, was
+astonished at their fury. Tiberius had done well, he thought, to exile
+four hundred of these people to Sardinia. Presently the Jews became so
+violent that he ordered the shields to be removed.
+
+Then the multitude surrounded the proconsul, imploring him to abolish
+certain unjust laws, asking for privileges, or begging for alms. They
+rent their clothing and jostled one another; and at last, in order to
+drive them back, several slaves, armed with long staves, charged upon
+them, striking right and left. Those nearest the gates made their escape
+and descended to the road; others rushed in to take their place, so that
+two streams of human beings flowed in and out, compressed within the
+limits of the gateway.
+
+Vitellius demanded the reason for the assembling of so great a throng.
+Antipas explained that they had been invited to come to a feast in
+celebration of his birthday; and he pointed to several men who, leaning
+against the battlements, were hauling up immense basket-loads of food,
+fruits, vegetables, antelopes, and storks; large fish, of a brilliant
+shade of blue; grapes, melons, and pyramids of pomegranates. At this
+sight, Aulus left the courtyard and hastened to the kitchens, led by his
+taste for gormandizing, which later became the amazement of the world.
+
+As they passed the opening to a small cellar, Vitellius perceived some
+objects resembling breast-plates hanging on a wall. He looked at them
+with interest, and then demanded that the subterranean chambers of the
+fortress be thrown open for his inspection. These chambers were cut into
+the rocky foundation of the castle, and had been formed into vaults,
+with pillars set at regular distances. The first vault opened contained
+old armour; the second was full of pikes, with long points emerging from
+tufts of feathers. The walls of the third chamber were hung with a kind
+of tapestry made of slender reeds, laid in perpendicular rows. Those of
+the fourth were covered with scimitars. In the middle of the fifth cell,
+rows of helmets were seen, the crests of which looked like a battalion
+of fiery serpents. The sixth cell contained nothing but empty quivers;
+the seventh, greaves for protecting the legs in battle; the eighth
+vault was filled with bracelets and armlets; and an examination of the
+remaining vaults disclosed forks, grappling-irons, ladders, cords, even
+catapults, and bells for the necks of camels; and as they descended
+deeper into the rocky foundation, it became evident that the whole mass
+was a veritable honeycomb of cells, and that below those already seen
+were many others.
+
+Vitellius, Phineas, his interpreter, and Sisenna, chief of the
+publicans, walked among these gloomy cells, attended by three eunuchs
+bearing torches.
+
+In the deep shadows hideous instruments, invented by barbarians, could
+be seen: tomahawks studded with nails; poisoned javelins; pincers
+resembling the jaws of crocodiles; in short, the tetrarch possessed in
+his castle munitions of war sufficient for forty thousand men.
+
+He had accumulated these weapons in anticipation of an alliance against
+him among his enemies. But he bethought him that the proconsul might
+believe, or assert, that he had collected this armoury in order to
+attack the Romans; so he hastened to offer explanations of all that
+Vitellius had observed.
+
+Some of these things did not belong to him at all, he said: many of
+them were necessary to defend the place against brigands and marauders,
+especially the Arabs. Many of the objects in the vault had been the
+property of his father, and he had allowed them to remain untouched. As
+he spoke, he managed to get in advance of the proconsul and preceded
+him along the corridors with rapid steps. Presently he halted and stood
+close against the wall as the party came up; he spoke quickly, standing
+with his hands on his hips, so that his voluminous mantle covered a wide
+space of the wall behind him. But just above his head the top of a door
+was visible. Vitellius remarked it instantly, and demanded to know what
+it concealed.
+
+The tetrarch explained that the door was fastened, and that none could
+open it save the Babylonian, Jacim.
+
+"Summon him, then!" was the command.
+
+A slave was sent to find Jacim, while the group awaited his coming.
+
+The father of Jacim had come from the banks of the Euphrates to offer
+his services, as well as those of five hundred horsemen, in the defence
+of the eastern frontier. After the division of the kingdom, Jacim had
+lived for a time with Philip, and was now in the service of Antipas.
+
+Presently he appeared among the vaults, carrying an archer's bow on
+his shoulder and a whip in his hand. Cords of many colours were lashed
+tightly about his knotted legs; his massive arms were thrust through a
+sleeveless tunic, and a fur cap shaded his face. His chin was covered
+with a heavy, curling beard.
+
+He appeared not to comprehend what the interpreter said to him at first.
+But Vitellius threw a meaning glance at Antipas, who quickly made the
+Babylonian understand the command of the proconsul. Jacim immediately
+laid both his hands against the door, giving it a powerful shove;
+whereupon it quietly slid out of sight into the wall.
+
+A wave of hot air surged from the depths of the cavern. A winding path
+descended and turned abruptly. The group followed it, and soon arrived
+at the threshold of a kind of grotto, somewhat larger than the other
+subterranean cells.
+
+An arched window at the back of this chamber gave directly upon
+a precipice, which formed a defence for one side of the castle. A
+honeysuckle vine, cramped by the low-studded ceiling, blossomed bravely.
+The sound of a running stream could be heard distinctly. In this place
+was a great number of beautiful white horses, perhaps a hundred. They
+were eating barley from a plank placed on a level with their mouths.
+Their manes had been coloured a deep blue; their hoofs were wrapped in
+coverings of woven grass, and the hair between their ears was puffed out
+like a peruke. As they stood quietly eating, they switched their tails
+gently to and fro. The proconsul regarded them in silent admiration.
+
+They were indeed wonderful animals; supple as serpents, light as birds.
+They were trained to gallop rapidly, following the arrow of the rider,
+and dash into the midst of a group of the enemy, overturning men and
+biting them savagely as they fell. They were sure-footed among rocky
+passes, and would jump fearlessly over yawning chasms; and, while ready
+to gallop across the plains a whole day without tiring, they would stop
+instantly at the command of the rider.
+
+As soon as Jacim entered their quarters, they trotted up to him, as
+sheep crowd around the shepherd; and, thrusting forward their sleek
+necks, they looked at him with a gaze like that of inquiring children.
+From force of habit, he emitted a raucous cry, which excited them; they
+pranced about, impatient at their confinement and longing to run.
+
+Antipas, fearing that if Vitellius knew of the existence of these
+creatures, he would take them away, had shut them up in this place, made
+especially to accommodate animals in case of siege.
+
+"This close confinement cannot be good for them," said Vitellius, "and
+there is a risk of losing them by keeping them here. Make an inventory
+of their number, Sisenna."
+
+The publican drew a writing-tablet from the folds of his robe, counted
+the horses, and recorded the number carefully.
+
+It was the habit of the agents of the fiscal companies to corrupt the
+governors in order to pillage the provinces. Sisenna was among the most
+flourishing of these agents, and was seen everywhere with his claw-like
+fingers and his eyelids continually blinking.
+
+After a time the party returned to the court. Heavy, round bronze lids,
+sunk in the stones of the pavement, covered the cisterns of the palace.
+Vitellius noticed that one of these was larger than the others, and that
+when struck by his foot it had not their sonority. He struck them all,
+one after another; then stamped upon the ground and shouted:
+
+"I have found it! I have found the buried treasure of Herod!"
+
+Searching for buried treasure was a veritable mania among the Romans.
+
+The tetrarch swore that no treasure was hidden in that spot.
+
+"What is concealed there, then?" the proconsul demanded.
+
+"Nothing--that is, only a man--a prisoner."
+
+"Show him to me!"
+
+The tetrarch hesitated to obey, fearing that the Jews would discover his
+secret. His reluctance to lift the cover made Vitellius impatient.
+
+"Break it in!" he cried to his lictors. Mannaeus heard the command, and,
+seeing a lictor step forward armed with a hatchet, he feared that the
+man intended to behead Iaokanann. He stayed the hand of the lictor after
+the first blow, and then slipped between the heavy lid and the pavement
+a kind of hook. He braced his long, lean arms, raised the cover slowly,
+and in a moment it lay flat upon the stones. The bystanders admired the
+strength of the old man.
+
+Under the bronze lid was a wooden trap-door of the same size. At a blow
+of the fist it folded back, allowing a wide hole to be seen, the mouth
+of an immense pit, with a flight of winding steps leading down into the
+darkness. Those that bent over to peer into the cavern beheld a vague
+and terrifying shape in its depths.
+
+This proved to be a human being, lying on the ground. His long locks
+hung over a camel's-hair robe that covered his shoulders. Slowly he rose
+to his feet. His head touched a grating embedded in the wall; and as
+he moved about he disappeared, from time to time, in the shadows of his
+dungeon.
+
+The rich tiaras of the Romans sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight, and
+their glittering sword-hilts threw out glancing golden rays. The doves,
+flying from their cotes, circled above the heads of the multitude.
+It was the hour when Mannaeus was accustomed to feed them. But now he
+crouched beside the tetrarch, who stood near Vitellius. The Galileans,
+the priests, and the soldiers formed a group behind them; all were
+silent, waiting with painful anticipation for what might happen.
+
+A deep groan, hollow and startling, rose from the pit.
+
+Herodias heard it from the farther end of the palace. Drawn by an
+irresistible though terrible fascination, she made her way through the
+throng, and, reaching Mannaeus, she leant one hand on his shoulder and
+bent over to listen.
+
+The hollow voice rose again from the depths of the earth.
+
+"Woe to thee, Sadducees and Pharisees! Thy voices are like the tinkling
+of cymbals! O race of vipers, bursting with pride!"
+
+The voice of Iaokanann was recognised. His name was whispered about.
+Spectators from a distance pressed closer to the open pit.
+
+"Woe to thee, O people! Woe to the traitors of Judah, and to the
+drunkards of Ephraim, who dwelt in the fertile valleys and stagger with
+the fumes of wine!
+
+"May they disappear like running water; like the slug that sinks into
+the sand as it moves; like an abortion that never sees the light!
+
+"And thou too, Moab! hide thyself in the midst of the cypress, like the
+sparrow; in caverns, like the wild hare! The gates of the fortress shall
+be crushed more easily than nut-shells; the walls shall crumble; cities
+shall burn; and the scourge of God shall not cease! He shall cause your
+bodies to be bathed in your own blood, like wool in the dyer's vat. He
+shall rend you, as with a harrow; He shall scatter the remains of your
+bodies from the tops of the mountains!"
+
+Of which conqueror was he speaking? Was it Vitellius? Only the Romans
+could bring about such an extermination. The people began to cry out:
+"Enough! enough! let him speak no more!"
+
+But the prisoner continued in louder tones:
+
+"Beside the corpses of their mothers, thy little ones shall drag
+themselves over the ashes of the burned cities. At night men will creep
+from their hiding-places to seek a bit of food among the ruins, even at
+the risk of being cut down with the sword. Jackals shall pick thy bones
+in the public places, where at eventide the fathers were wont to gather.
+At the bidding of Gentiles, thy maidens shall be forced to cease their
+lamentations and to make music upon the zither, and the bravest of thy
+sons shall learn to bend their backs, chafed with heavy burdens."
+
+The listeners remembered the days of exile, and all the misfortunes and
+catastrophes of the past. These words were like the anathemas of the
+ancient prophets. The captive thundered them forth like bolts from
+heaven.
+
+Presently his voice became almost as sweet and harmonious as if he
+were uttering a chant. He spoke of the world's redemption from sin
+and sorrow; of the glories of heaven; of gold in place of clay; of the
+desert blossoming like the rose. "That which is now worth sixty pieces
+of silver will not cost a single obol. Fountains of milk shall spring
+from the rocks; men shall sleep, well satisfied, among the wine-presses.
+The people shall prostrate themselves before Thee, and Thy reign shall
+be eternal, O Son of David!"
+
+The tetrarch suddenly recoiled from the opening of the pit; the mention
+of the existence of a son of David seemed to him like a menace to
+himself.
+
+Iaokanann then poured forth invectives against him for presuming to
+aspire to royalty.
+
+"There is no other king than the Eternal God!" he cried; and he cursed
+Antipas for his luxurious gardens, his statues, his furniture of carved
+ivory and precious woods, comparing him to the impious Ahab.
+
+Antipas broke the slender cord attached to the royal seal that he wore
+around his neck, and throwing the seal into the pit, he commanded his
+prisoner to be silent.
+
+But Iaokanann replied: "I shall cry aloud like a savage bear, like the
+wild ass, like a woman in travail! The punishment of heaven has already
+visited itself upon thy incest! May God inflict thee with the sterility
+of mules!"
+
+At these words, a sound of suppressed laughter arose here and there
+among the listeners.
+
+Vitellius had remained close to the opening of the dungeon while
+Iaokanann was speaking. His interpreter, in impassive tones, translated
+into the Roman tongue all the threats and invectives that rolled up
+from the depths of the gloomy prison. The tetrarch and Herodias felt
+compelled to remain near at hand. Antipas listened, breathing heavily;
+while the woman, with parted lips, gazed into the darkness of the pit,
+her face drawn with an expression of fear and hatred.
+
+The terrible man now turned towards her. He grasped the bars of his
+prison, pressed against them his bearded face, in which his eyes glowed
+like burning coals, and cried:
+
+"Ah! Is it thou, Jezebel? Thou hast captured thy lord's heart with the
+tinkling of thy feet. Thou didst neigh to him like a mare. Thou
+didst prepare thy bed on the mountain top, in order to accomplish thy
+sacrifices!
+
+"The Lord shall take from thee thy sparkling jewels, thy purple robes
+and fine linen; the bracelets from thine arms, the anklets from thy
+feet; the golden ornaments that dangle upon thy brow, thy mirrors of
+polished silver, thy fans of ostrich plumes, thy shoes with their heels
+of mother-of-pearl, that serve to increase thy stature; thy glittering
+diamonds, the scent of thy hair, the tint of thy nails,--all the
+artifices of thy coquetry shall disappear, and missiles shall be found
+wherewith to stone the adulteress!"
+
+Herodias looked around for some one to defend her. The Pharisees lowered
+their eyes hypocritically. The Sadducees turned away their heads,
+fearing to offend the proconsul should they appear to sympathise with
+her. Antipas was almost in a swoon.
+
+Louder still rose the voice from the dungeon; the neighbouring hills
+gave back an echo with startling effect, and Machaerus seemed actually
+surrounded and showered with curses.
+
+"Prostrate thyself in the dust, daughter of Babylon, and scourge
+thyself! Remove thy girdle and thy shoes, gather up thy garments and
+walk through the flowing stream; thy shame shall follow thee, thy
+disgrace shall be known to all men, thy bosom shall be rent with sobs.
+God execrates the stench of thy crimes! Accursed one! die like a dog!"
+
+At that instant the trap-door was suddenly shut down and secured by
+Mannaeus, who would have liked to strangle Iaokanann then and there.
+
+Herodias glided away and disappeared within the palace. The Pharisees
+were scandalised at what they had heard. Antipas, standing among
+them, attempted to justify his past conduct and to excuse his present
+situation.
+
+"Without doubt," said Eleazar, "it was necessary for him to marry his
+brother's wife; but Herodias was not a widow, and besides, she had a
+child, which she abandoned; and that was an abomination."
+
+"You are wrong," objected Jonathas the Sadducee; "the law condemns such
+marriages but does not actually forbid them."
+
+"What matters it? All the world shows me injustice," said Antipas,
+bitterly; "and why? Did not Absalom lie with his father's wives, Judah
+with his daughter-in-law, Ammon with his sister, and Lot with his
+daughters?"
+
+Aulus, who had been reposing within the palace, now reappeared in the
+court. After he had heard how matters stood, he approved of the attitude
+of the tetrarch. "A man should never allow himself to be annoyed," said
+he, "by such foolish criticism." And he laughed at the censure of the
+priests and the fury of Iaokanann, saying that his words were of little
+importance.
+
+Herodias, who also had reappeared, and now stood at the top of a flight
+of steps, called loudly:
+
+"You are wrong, my lord! He ordered the people to refuse to pay the
+tax!"
+
+"Is that true?" he demanded. The general response was affirmative,
+Antipas adding his word to the declaration of the others.
+
+Vitellius had a misgiving that the prisoner might be able to escape;
+and as the conduct of Antipas appeared to him rather suspicious, he
+established his own sentinels at the gates, at intervals along the
+walls, and in the courtyard itself.
+
+At last he retired to the apartments assigned to him, accompanied by
+the priests. Without touching directly upon the question of the coveted
+offices of public sacrificers, each one laid his own grievances before
+the proconsul. They fairly beset him with complaints and requests, but
+he soon dismissed them from his presence.
+
+As Jonathas left the proconsul's apartments he perceived Antipas
+standing under an arch, talking to an Essene, who wore a long white robe
+and flowing locks. Jonathas regretted that he had raised his voice in
+defence of the tetrarch.
+
+One thought now consoled Herod-Antipas. He was no longer personally
+responsible for the fate of Iaokanann. The Romans had assumed that
+charge. What a relief! He had noticed Phanuel pacing slowly through
+the court, and calling him to his side, he pointed put the guards
+established by Vitellius, saying:
+
+"They are stronger than I! I cannot now set the prisoner free! It is not
+my fault if he remains in his dungeon."
+
+The courtyard was empty. The slaves were sleeping. The day was drawing
+to a close, and the sunset spread a deep rosy glow over the horizon,
+against which the smallest objects stood out like silhouettes. Antipas
+was able to distinguish the excavations of the salt-mines at the farther
+end of the Dead Sea, but the tents of the Arabs were no longer visible.
+As the moon rose, the effect of the day's excitement passed away, and a
+feeling of peace entered his heart.
+
+Phanuel, also wearied by the recent agitating scenes, remained beside
+the tetrarch. He sat in silence for some time, his chin resting on his
+breast. At last he spoke in confidence to Antipas, and revealed what he
+had wished to say.
+
+From the beginning of the month, he said, he had been studying the
+heavens every morning before daybreak, when the constellation of Perseus
+was at the zenith; Agalah was scarcely visible; Algol was even less
+bright; Mira-Cetus had disappeared entirely; from all of which he
+augured the death of some man of great importance, to occur that very
+night in Machaerus.
+
+Who was the man? Vitellius was too closely guarded to be reached. No one
+would kill Iaokanann.
+
+"It is I!" thought the tetrarch.
+
+It might be that the Arabs would return and make a successful attack
+upon him. Perhaps the proconsul would discover his relations with the
+Parthians. Several men whom Antipas had recognised as hired assassins
+from Jerusalem, had escorted the priests in the train of the proconsul;
+they all carried daggers concealed beneath their robes. The tetrarch had
+no doubt whatever of the exactness of Phanuel's skill in astrology.
+
+Suddenly he bethought him of Herodias. He would consult her. He hated
+her, certainly, but she might give him courage; and besides, in spite
+of his dislike, not all the bonds were yet broken of that sorcery which
+once she had woven about him.
+
+When he entered her chamber, he was met by the pungent odour of cinnamon
+burning in a porphyry vase and the perfume of powders, unguents,
+cloud-like gauzes and embroideries light as feathers, filled the air
+with fragrance.
+
+He did not speak of Phanuel's prophecy, nor of his own fear of the Jews
+and the Arabs. Herodias had already accused him of cowardice. He spoke
+only of the Romans, and complained that Vitellius had not confided to
+him any of his military projects. He said he supposed the proconsul
+was the friend of Caligula, who often visited Agrippa; and expressed
+a surmise that he himself might be exiled, or that perhaps his throat
+would be cut.
+
+Herodias, who now treated him with a kind of disdainful indulgence,
+tried to reassure him. At last she took from a small casket a curious
+medallion, ornamented with a profile of Tiberius. The sight of it, she
+said, as she gave it to Antipas, would make the lictors turn pale and
+silence all accusing voices.
+
+Antipas, filled with gratitude, asked her how the medallion had come
+into her possession.
+
+"It was given to me," was her only answer.
+
+At that moment Antipas beheld a bare arm slipping through a portiere
+hanging in front of him. It was the arm of a youthful woman, as graceful
+in outline as if carved from ivory by Polyclitus. With a movement a
+little awkward and at the same time charming, it felt about the wall an
+instant, as if seeking something, then took down a tunic hanging upon a
+hook near the doorway, and disappeared.
+
+An elderly female attendant passed quietly through the room, lifted the
+portiere, and went out. A sudden recollection pierced the memory of the
+tetrarch.
+
+"Is that woman one of thy slaves?" he asked.
+
+"What matters that to thee?" was the disdainful reply.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+The great banqueting-hall was filled with guests. This apartment
+had three naves, like a basilica, which were separated by columns of
+sandalwood, whose capitals were of sculptured bonze. On each side of the
+apartment was a gallery for spectators, and a third, with a facade of
+gold filigree, was at one end, opposite an immense arch at the other.
+
+The candelabra burning on the tables, which were spread the whole length
+of the banqueting-hall, glowed like clusters of flaming flowers among
+the painted cups, the plates of shining copper, the cubes of snow and
+heaps of luscious grapes. Through the large windows the guests could
+see lighted torches on the terraces of the neighbouring houses; for this
+night Antipas was giving a feast to his friends, his own people, and to
+anyone that presented himself at the castle.
+
+The slaves, alert as dogs, glided about noiselessly in felt sandals,
+carrying dishes to and fro.
+
+The table of the proconsul was placed beneath the gilded balcony upon a
+platform of sycamore wood. Rich tapestries from Babylon were hung about
+the pavilion, giving a certain effect of seclusion.
+
+Upon three ivory couches, one facing the great hall, and the other two
+placed one on either side of the pavilion, reclined Vitellius, his son
+Aulus, and Antipas; the proconsul being near the door, at the left,
+Aulus on the right, the tetrarch occupying the middle couch.
+
+Antipas wore a heavy black mantle, the texture of which was almost
+hidden by coloured embroideries and glittering decorations; his beard
+was spread out like a fan; blue powder had been scattered over his hair,
+and on his head rested a diadem covered with precious stones. Vitellius
+still wore the purple band, the emblem of his rank, crossed diagonally
+over a linen toga.
+
+Aulus had tied behind his back the sleeves of his violet robe,
+embroidered with silver. His clustering curls were laid in carefully
+arranged rows; a necklace of sapphires gleamed against his throat, plump
+and white as that of a woman. Crouched upon a rug near him, with legs
+crossed was a pretty white boy, upon whose face shone a perpetual smile.
+Aulus had found him somewhere among the kitchens and had taken a violent
+fancy to him. He had made the child one of his suite, but as he never
+could remember his protege's Chaldean name, called him simply "the
+Asiatic." From time to time the little fellow sprang up and played about
+the dining-table, and his antics appeared to amuse the guests.
+
+At one side of the tetrarch's pavilion were the tables at which
+were seated his priests and officers; also a number of persons from
+Jerusalem, and the more important men from the Grecian cities. At the
+table on the left of the proconsul sat Marcellus with the publicans,
+several friends of the tetrarch, and various representatives from Cana,
+Ptolemais, and Jericho. Seated at other tables were mountaineers from
+Liban and many of the old soldiers of Herod's army; a dozen Thracians,
+a Greek and two Germans; besides huntsmen and herdsmen, the Sultan of
+Palmyra, and sailors from Eziongaber. Before each guest was placed a
+roll of soft bread, upon which to wipe the fingers. As soon as they
+were seated, hands were stretched out with the eagerness of a vulture's
+claws, seizing upon olives, pistachios, and almonds. Every face was
+joyous, every head was crowned with flowers, except those of the
+Pharisees, who refused to wear the wreaths, regarding them as a symbol
+of Roman voluptuousness and vice. They shuddered when the attendants
+sprinkled them with galburnum and incense, the use of which the
+Pharisees reserved strictly for services in the Temple.
+
+Antipas observed that Aulus rubbed himself under the arms, as if annoyed
+by heat or chafing; and promised to give him three flasks of the same
+kind of precious balm that had been used by Cleopatra.
+
+A captain from the garrison of Tiberias who had just arrived, placed
+himself behind the tetrarch as protection in case any unexpected trouble
+should arise. But his attention was divided between observing the
+movements of the proconsul and listening to the conversation of his
+neighbours.
+
+There was, naturally, much talk of Iaokanann, and other men of his
+stamp.
+
+"It is said," remarked one of the guests, "that Simon of Gitta washed
+away his sins in fire. And a certain man called Jesus--"
+
+"He is the worst of them all!" interrupted Eleazar. "A miserable
+imposter!"
+
+At this a man sprang up from a table near the tetrarch's pavilion, and
+made his way towards the place where Eleazar sat. His face was almost as
+pale as his linen robe, but he addressed the Pharisees boldly, saying:
+"That is a lie! Jesus has performed miracles!"
+
+Antipas expressed a long-cherished desire to see the man Jesus perform
+some of his so-called miracles. "You should have brought him with you,"
+he said to the last speaker, who was still standing. "Tell us what you
+know about him," he commanded.
+
+Then the stranger said that he himself, whose name was Jacob, having a
+daughter who was very ill, had gone to Capernaum to implore the Master
+to heal his child. The Master had answered him, saying: "Return to thy
+home: she is healed!" And he had found his daughter standing at the
+threshold of his house, having risen from her couch when the gnomon had
+marked the third hour, the same moment when he had made his supplication
+to Jesus.
+
+The Pharisees admitted that certain mysterious arts and powerful herbs
+existed that would heal the sick. It was said that the marvellous plant
+known as "baaras" grew even in Machaerus, the power of which rendered
+its consumer invulnerable against all attacks; but to cure disease
+without seeing or touching the afflicted person was clearly impossible,
+unless, indeed, the man Jesus called in the assistance of evil spirits.
+
+The friends of Antipas and the men from Galilee nodded wisely, saying:
+"It is evident that he is aided by demons of some sort!"
+
+Jacob, standing between their table and that of the priests, maintained
+a silence at once lofty and respectful.
+
+Several voices exclaimed: "Prove his power to us!"
+
+Jacob leaned over the priests' table, and said slowly, in a
+half-suppressed tone, as if awe-struck by his own words:
+
+"Know ye not, then, that He is the Messiah?"
+
+The priests stared at one another, and Vitellius demanded the meaning of
+the word. His interpreter paused a moment before translating it. Then
+he said that Messiah was the name to be given to one who was to come,
+bringing the enjoyment of all blessings, and giving them domination over
+all the peoples of the earth. Certain persons believed that there were
+to be two Messiahs; one would be vanquished by Gog and Magog, the demons
+of the North; but the other would exterminate the Prince of Evil; and
+for centuries the coming of this Saviour of mankind had been expected at
+any moment.
+
+At this, the priests began to talk in low tones among themselves.
+Eleazar addressed Jacob, saying that it had always been understood that
+the Messiah would be a son of David, not of a carpenter; and that he
+would confirm the law, whereas this Nazarene attacked it. Furthermore,
+as a still stronger argument against the pretender, it had been promised
+that the Messiah should be preceded by Elias.
+
+"But Elias has come!" Jacob answered.
+
+"Elias! Elias!" was repeated from one end of the banqueting-hall to the
+other.
+
+In imagination, all fancied that they could see an old man, a flight
+of ravens above his head, standing before an altar, which a flash of
+lightning illumined, revealing the idolatrous priests that were thrown
+into the torrent; and the women, sitting in the galleries, thought of
+the widow of Sarepta.
+
+Jacob then declared that he knew Elias; that he had seen him, and that
+many of the guests there assembled had seen him!
+
+"His name!" was the cry from all lips.
+
+"Iaokanann!"
+
+Antipas fell back in his chair as if a heavy blow had struck him on the
+breast. The Sadducees rose from their seats and rushed towards Jacob.
+Eleazar raised his voice to a shout in order to make himself heard. When
+order was finally restored, he draped his mantle about his shoulders,
+and, with the air of a judge, proceeded to put questions to Jacob.
+
+"Since the prophet is dead--" he began.
+
+Murmurs interrupted him. Many persons believed that Elias was not dead,
+but had only disappeared.
+
+Eleazar rebuked those who had interrupted him; and continuing, asked:
+
+"And dost thou believe that he has indeed come to life again?"
+
+"Why should I not believe it?" Jacob replied.
+
+The Sadducees shrugged their shoulders. Jonathas, opening wide his
+little eyes, gave a forced, buffoon-like laugh. Nothing could be more
+absurd, said he, than the idea that a human body could have eternal
+life; and he declaimed, for the benefit of the proconsul, this line from
+a contemporaneous poet:
+
+Nec crescit, nec post mortem durare videtur.
+
+By this time Aulus was leaning over the side of the pavilion, with pale
+face, a perspiring brow, and both hands outspread on his stomach.
+
+The Sadducees pretended to be deeply moved at the sight of his
+suffering, thinking that perhaps the next day the offices of sacrificers
+would be theirs. Antipas appeared to be in despair at his guest's agony.
+Vitellius preserved a calm demeanour, although he felt some anxiety, for
+the loss of his son would mean the loss of his fortune.
+
+But Aulus, quickly recovering after he had relieved his over-burdened
+stomach, was as eager to eat as before.
+
+"Let some one bring me marble-dust," he commanded, "or clay of Naxos,
+sea-water--anything! Perhaps it would do me good to bathe."
+
+He swallowed a quantity of snow; then hesitated between a ragout and a
+dish of blackbirds; and finally decided in favour of gourds served
+in honey. The little Asiatic gazed at his master in astonishment and
+admiration; to him this exhibition of gluttony denoted a wonderful being
+belonging to a superior race.
+
+The feast went on. Slaves served the guests with kidneys, dormice,
+nightingales, mince-meat dressed with vine-leaves. The priests
+discoursed among themselves regarding the supposed resurrection.
+Ammonius, pupil of Philon, the Platonist, pronounced them stupid, and
+told the Greeks that he laughed at their oracles.
+
+Marcellus and Jacob were seated side by side. Marcellus described the
+happiness he had felt under the baptism of Mithra, and Jacob made him
+promise to become a follower of Jesus.
+
+The wines of the palm and the tamarisk, those of Safed and of Byblos,
+ran from the amphoras into the crateras, from the crateras into the
+cups, and from the cups down the guests' throats. Every one talked, all
+hearts expanding under the good cheer. Jacim, although a Jew, did not
+hesitate to express his admiration of the planets. A merchant from
+Aphaka amazed the nomads with his description of the marvels in the
+temple of Hierapolis; and they wished to know the cost of a pilgrimage
+to that place. Others held fast to the principles of their native
+religion. A German, who was nearly blind, sang a hymn celebrating that
+promontory in Scandinavia where the gods were wont to appear with halos
+around their heads. The people from Sichem declined to eat turtles, out
+of deference to the dove Azima.
+
+Several groups stood talking near the middle of the banqueting-hall,
+and the vapour of their breath, mingled with the smoke from the candles,
+formed a light mist. Presently Phanuel slipped quietly into the room,
+keeping close to the wall. He had been out in the open courtyard, to
+make another survey of the heavens. He stopped when he reached the
+pavilion of the tetrarch, fearing he would be splashed with drops of oil
+if he approached the other tables, which, to an Essene, would be a great
+defilement.
+
+Suddenly violent blows resounded upon the castle gates. The news of the
+imprisonment of Iaokanann had spread rapidly, and now it appeared that
+the whole surrounding population was flocking to the castle. Men with
+torches were hastening along the roads in all directions; a black mass
+of people swarmed in the ravine; and from all throats came the cry:
+"Iaokanann! Iaokanann!"
+
+"That man will ruin everything," said Jonathas.
+
+"We shall have no more money if this continues," said the Pharisees.
+
+Accusations, recriminations, and pleadings were heard on all sides.
+
+"Protect us!"
+
+"Compel them to cease!"
+
+"Thou didst abandon thy religion!"
+
+"Impious as all the Herods!"
+
+"Less impious than thou!" Antipas retorted. "Was it not my father that
+erected thy Temple?"
+
+Then the Pharisees, children of the proscribed tribes, partisans of
+Mattathias, accused the tetrarch of all the crimes committed by his
+family.
+
+The Pharisees had pointed skulls, bristling beards, feeble hands, snub
+noses, great round eyes, and their countenances bore a resemblance to
+that of a bull-dog. A dozen of these people, scribes and attendants upon
+the priests, who picked up their living from the refuse of holocausts,
+rushed to the foot of the pavilion and threatened Antipas with their
+knives. He attempted to speak to them, being only slightly protected by
+some of the Sadducees. Suddenly he perceived Mannaeus at a distance and
+made him a sign to approach. The expression on the face of Vitellius
+indicated that he regarded all this turmoil as no concern of his.
+
+The Pharisees, leaning against the pavilion, were now beside themselves
+with demoniac fury. They broke plates and dashed them upon the floor.
+The attendants had served them with a ragout composed of the flesh of
+the wild ass, an unclean animal, and their anger knew no bounds. Aulus
+rallied them jeeringly apropos of the ass's head, which he declared they
+honoured. He flung other sarcasms at them, regarding their antipathy to
+the flesh of swine, intimating that no doubt their hatred arose from the
+fact that that beast had killed their beloved Bacchus, and saying it was
+to be feared they were too fond of wine, since a golden vine had been
+discovered in the Temple.
+
+The priests did not understand his sneers, and Phineas, of Galilean
+origin, refused to translate them. Aulus suddenly became angry, the
+more so because the little Asiatic, frightened at the tumult, had
+disappeared. The feast no longer pleased the noble glutton; the dishes
+were vulgar, and not sufficiently disguised with delicate flavourings.
+After a time his displeasure abated, as he caught sight of a dish of
+Syrian lambs' tails, dressed with spices, a favourite dainty.
+
+To Vitellius the character of the Jews seemed frightful. Their God was
+like Moloch, several altars to whom he had passed upon his route; and
+he recalled the stories he had heard of the mysterious Jew who fattened
+small children and offered them as a sacrifice. His Latin nature was
+filled with disgust at their intolerance, their iconoclastic rage, their
+brutal, stumbling bearing. The proconsul wished to depart, but Aulus
+refused to accompany him.
+
+The exaltation of the people increased. They abandoned themselves to
+dreams of independence. They recalled the glory of Israel, and a Syrian
+spoke of all the great conquerors they had vanquished,--Antigone,
+Crassus, Varus.
+
+"Miserable creatures!" cried the enraged proconsul, who had overheard
+the Syrian's words.
+
+In the midst of the uproar Antipas remembered the medallion of the
+emperor that Herodias had given to him; he drew it forth and looked at
+it a moment, trembling, then held it up with its face turned towards the
+throng.
+
+At the same moment, the panels of the gold-railed balcony were folded
+back, and, accompanied by slaves bearing wax tapers, Herodias appeared,
+her coiffure crowned with an Assyrian mitre, which was held in place
+by a band passing under the chin. Her dark hair fell in ringlets over a
+scarlet peplum with slashed sleeves. On either side of the door through
+which one stepped into the gallery, stood a huge stone monster, like
+those of Atrides; and as Herodias appeared between them, she looked
+like Cybele supported by her lions. In her hands she carried a patera,
+a shallow vessel of silver used by the Romans in pouring libations;
+and, advancing to the front of the balcony and pausing just above the
+tetrarch's chair, she cried:
+
+"Long live Caesar!"
+
+This homage was repeated by Vitellius, Antipas, and the priests.
+
+But now, beginning at the farthest end of the banqueting-hall, a murmur
+of surprise and admiration swept through the multitude. A beautiful
+young girl had just entered the apartment, and stood motionless for an
+instant, while all eyes were turned upon her.
+
+Through a drapery of filmy blue gauze that veiled her head and
+throat, her arched eyebrows, tiny ears, and ivory-white skin could be
+distinguished. A scarf of shot-silk fell from her shoulders, and was
+caught up at the waist by a girdle of fretted silver. Her full trousers,
+of black silk, were embroidered in a pattern of silver mandragoras, and
+as she moved forward with indolent grace, her little feet were seen to
+be shod with slippers made of the feathers of humming-birds.
+
+When she arrived in front of the pavilion she removed her veil. Behold!
+she seemed to be Herodias herself, as she had appeared in the days of
+her blooming youth.
+
+Immediately the damsel began to dance before the tetrarch. Her slender
+feet took dainty steps to the rhythm of a flute and a pair of Indian
+bells. Her round white arms seemed ever beckoning and striving to
+entice to her side some youth who was fleeing from her allurements. She
+appeared to pursue him, with movements light as a butterfly; her whole
+mien was like that of an inquisitive Psyche, or a floating spirit that
+might at any moment dissolve and disappear.
+
+Presently the plaintive notes of the gingras, a small flute of
+Phoenician origin, replaced the tinkling bells. The attitudes of the
+dancing nymph now denoted overpowering lassitude. Her bosom heaved with
+sighs, and her whole being expressed profound languor, although it was
+not clear whether she sighed for an absent swain or was expiring of love
+in his embrace. With half-closed eyes and quivering form, she caused
+mysterious undulations to flow downward over her whole body, like
+rippling waves, while her face remained impassive and her twinkling feet
+still moved in their intricate steps.
+
+Vitellius compared her to Mnester, the famous pantomimist. Aulus was
+overcome with faintness. The tetrarch watched her, lost in a voluptuous
+reverie, and thought no more of the real Herodias. In fancy he saw her
+again as she appeared when she had dwelt among the Sadducees. Then the
+vision faded.
+
+But this beautiful thing before him was no vision. The dancer was
+Salome, the daughter of Herodias, who for many months her mother had
+caused to be instructed in dancing, and other arts of pleasing, with
+the sole idea of bringing her to Machaerus and presenting her to the
+tetrarch, so that he should fall in love with her fresh young beauty
+and feminine wiles. The plan had proved successful, it seemed; he was
+evidently fascinated, and Herodias felt that at last she was sure of
+retaining her power over him!
+
+And now the graceful dancer appeared transported with the very delirium
+of love and passion. She danced like the priestesses of India, like the
+Nubians of the cataracts, or like the Bacchantes of Lydia. She whirled
+about like a flower blown by the tempest. The jewels in her ears
+sparkled, her swift movements made the colours of her draperies appear
+to run into one another. Her arms, her feet, her clothing even, seemed
+to emit streams of magnetism, that set the spectators' blood on fire.
+
+Suddenly the thrilling chords of a harp rang through the hall, and the
+throng burst into loud acclamations. All eyes were fixed on Salome, who
+paused in her rhythmic dance, placed her feet wide apart, and without
+bending the knees, suddenly swayed her lithe body downward, so that her
+chin touched the floor; and her whole audience,--the nomads, accustomed
+to a life of privation and abstinence, the Roman soldiers, expert in
+debaucheries, the avaricious publicans, and even the crabbed, elderly
+priests--gazed upon her with dilated nostrils.
+
+Next she began to whirl frantically around the table where Antipas the
+tetrarch was seated. He leaned towards the flying figure, and in a voice
+half choked with the voluptuous sighs of a mad desire, he sighed: "Come
+to me! Come!" But she whirled on, while the music of dulcimers swelled
+louder and the excited spectators roared their applause.
+
+The tetrarch called again, louder than before: "Come to me! Come! Thou
+shalt have Capernaum, the plains of Tiberias! my citadels! yea, the half
+of my kingdom!"
+
+Again the dancer paused; then, like a flash, she threw herself upon the
+palms of her hands, while her feet rose straight up into the air. In
+this bizarre pose she moved about upon the floor like a gigantic beetle;
+then stood motionless.
+
+The nape of her neck formed a right angle with her vertebrae. The full
+silken skirts of pale hues that enveloped her limbs when she stood
+erect, now fell to her shoulders and surrounded her face like a rainbow.
+Her lips were tinted a deep crimson, her arched eyebrows were black
+as jet, her glowing eyes had an almost terrible radiance; and the tiny
+drops of perspiration on her forehead looked like dew upon white marble.
+
+She made no sound; and the burning gaze of that multitude of men was
+concentrated upon her.
+
+A sound like the snapping of fingers came from the gallery over the
+pavilion. Instantly, with one of her movements of bird-like swiftness,
+Salome stood erect. The next moment she rapidly passed up a flight of
+steps leading to the gallery, and coming to the front of it she leaned
+over, smiled upon the tetrarch, and, with an air of almost childlike
+naivete, pronounced these words:
+
+"I ask my lord to give me, placed upon a charger, the head of--" She
+hesitated, as if not certain of the name; then said: "The head of
+Iaokanann!"
+
+The tetrarch sank back in his chair as if stunned.
+
+He had bound himself by his promise to her; and the people awaited his
+next movement. But the death that night of some conspicuous man that had
+been predicted to him by Phanuel,--what if, by bringing it upon another,
+he could avert it from himself, thought Antipas. If Iaokanann was in
+very truth the Elias so much talked of, he would have power to protect
+himself; and if he were only an ordinary man, his murder was of no
+importance.
+
+Mannaeus stood beside his chair, and read his master's thoughts.
+Vitellius beckoned him to his side and gave him an order for the
+execution, to be transmitted to the soldiers placed on guard over the
+dungeon. This execution would be a relief, he thought. In a few moments
+all would be over!
+
+But for once Mannaeus did not perform a commission satisfactorily. He
+left the hall but soon returned, in a state of great perturbation.
+
+During forty years he had exercised the functions of the public
+executioner. It was he that had drowned Aristobulus, strangled
+Alexander, burned Mattathias alive, beheaded Zozimus, Pappus, Josephus,
+and Antipater; but he dared not kill Iaokanann! His teeth chattered and
+his whole body trembled.
+
+He declared that he had seen, standing before the dungeon, the Angel of
+the Samaritans, covered with eyes and brandishing a great sword, glowing
+and quivering like a flame. He appealed to two of the guards, who had
+entered the hall with him, to corroborate his words. But they said they
+had seen nothing except a Jewish captain who had attacked them, and whom
+they had killed.
+
+The fury of Herodias poured forth in a torrent of invective against
+the populace. She clenched the railing of the balcony so fiercely as
+to break her nails; the two stone lions at her back seemed to bite her
+shoulders and join their voices to hers.
+
+Antipas followed her example; and priests, soldiers, and Pharisees cried
+aloud together for vengeance, echoed by the rest of the gathering, who
+were indignant that a mere slave should dare to delay their pleasures.
+
+Again Mannaeus left the hall, covering his face with his hands.
+
+The guests found the second delay longer than the first. It seemed
+tedious to every one.
+
+Presently a sound of footsteps was heard in the corridor without; then
+silence fell again. The suspense was becoming intolerable.
+
+Suddenly the door was flung open and Mannaeus entered, holding at arm's
+length, grasping it by the hair, the head of Iaokanann. His appearance
+was greeted with a burst of applause, which filled him with pride and
+revived his courage.
+
+He placed the head upon a charger and offered it to Salome, who had
+descended the steps to receive it. She remounted to the balcony, with a
+light step; and in another moment the charger was carried about from
+one table to another by the elderly female slave whom the tetrarch had
+observed in the morning on the balcony of a neighbouring house, and
+later in the chamber of Herodias.
+
+When she approached him with her ghastly burden, he turned away his head
+to avoid looking at it. Vitellius threw upon it an indifferent glance.
+
+Mannaeus descended from the pavilion, took the charger from the woman,
+and exhibited the head to the Roman captains, then to all the guests on
+that side of the hall.
+
+They looked at it curiously.
+
+The sharp blade of the sword had cut into the jaw with a swift downward
+stroke. The corners of the mouth were drawn, as if by a convulsion.
+Clots of blood besprinkled the beard. The closed eyelids had a
+shell-like transparency, and the candelabra on every side lighted up the
+gruesome object with terrible distinctness.
+
+Mannaeus arrived at the table where the priests were seated. One of them
+turned the charger about curiously, to look at the head from all sides.
+Then Mannaeus, having entirely regained his courage, placed the charger
+before Aulus, who had just awakened from a short doze; and finally he
+brought it again to Antipas and set it down upon the table beside him.
+Tears were running down the cheeks of the tetrarch.
+
+The lights began to flicker and die out. The guests departed, and at
+last no one remained in the great hall save Antipas, who sat leaning his
+head upon his hands, gazing at the head of Iaokanann; and Phanuel, who
+stood in the centre of the largest nave and prayed aloud, with uplifted
+arms.
+
+
+At sunrise the two men who had been sent on a mission by Iaokanann some
+time before, returned to the castle, bringing the answer so long awaited
+and hoped for.
+
+They whispered the message to Phanuel, who received it with rapture.
+
+Then he showed them the lugubrious object, still resting on the charger
+amid the ruins of the feast. One of the men said:
+
+"Be comforted! He has descended among the dead in order to announce the
+coming of the Christ!"
+
+And in that moment the Essene comprehended the words of Iaokanann: "In
+order that His glory may increase, mine must diminish!"
+
+Then the three, taking with them the head of John the Baptist, set out
+upon the road to Galilee; and as the burden was heavy, each man bore it
+awhile in turn.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Herodias, by Gustave Flaubert
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HERODIAS ***
+
+***** This file should be named 1291.txt or 1291.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/9/1291/
+
+Produced by John Bickers and David Widger
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.