Ben-Hur; a tale of the Christ

out the commencement of the fourth hour, a great crowd appeared over the crest of Olivet, and as it defiled down the road thousands in number, the two watchers noticed with wonder that every o

ning of it all?"

ng to meet him; those we hear in the east are his friends bearing him co

hey do, we ca

ght was in th

f the healing of the ten, in what words

, have mercy upon us,' o

y th

e that

gh," the mother

"Judah said he saw

hese, looking anxiously, saw an olive-hued face shaded by long chestnut hair slightly sunburned and parted in the middle. He looked neither to the right nor left. In the noisy abandon of his followers he appeared to have no part; nor did their favor disturb him in the least, or raise him out of the profound melancholy into which, as his countenanc

the mother said; "he i

n front of the white rock

ession in the west, the thousands from the city halted, and began to wave the

f Israel that cometh i

so the air shook with the sound, which was as a great wind threshing the side of the hill. Am

it the opportunity the sufferers were seeking; if not take

s get nearer. He cannot

-saw her hideous face, and stopped awe-struck--an effect for which extreme human misery, visible as in this instance, is as

ers! the

ne t

ed of God!

near by familiar with the nature of the man to whom the unfortunates were appealing--some who, by long intercourse with him, had caught somewhat of his divine compassion: they gazed at him, a

the colloqu

ur need; thou canst make us cle

I am able to do

prophets spake--thou art

radiant, his m

is thy faith; be it unt

ly unconscious of the presence of the

inventions of men the foulest and most cruel, breathing even then in the forecast shadow of the awful event, and still as hungry an

! Blessed, thrice blessed, th

he lepers forever. Covering her head, the elder hastened to Tirzah, and folded her in her arms, crying, "Daughter, look up! I have his promise; he is indeed the Messiah. We are saved

s. Directly, as if to make the purification complete, from body to spirit the quickening ran, exalting them to a very fervor of ecstasy. The power possessing them to this good end was most nearly that of a draught of swift and happy effect; yet it was unlike and superior in that its he

ard her prayer, and saw her disfigured face; he heard the answer also, and was not so accustomed to incidents of the kind, frequent as they had been, as to have lost interest in them. Had such thing been possible with him, still the bitter disputation always excited by the simplest display of the Master's curative gift would have sufficed to keep his curiosity alive. Besides that, if not above it as an incentive, his hop

league, carrying short swords under their long abbas. After a little a swar

e gone by, even the laggards. "I wish to be at t

now in his prime of strength and beauty, t

xperiment, the result of which might possibly help him to solution of the mystery that had so long engaged him. As he proceed

h, it is Amrah!" h

r and daughter, still without recognizi

to her, "Amrah, w

es before him, blinded by her tears, nigh

! Thy God and min

o poor Amrah, aloof and hiding her face, knew the transformation the lepers were undergoing without a word spoken to her--knew it, and shared all their feeling to the full. Her countenance, her words, her whole manner, betrayed her condition; and with swift present

ifference to mar the identity--the hair of this person was a little streaked with gray; yet that was not impossible of reconcilement, since the intelligence which had directed the miracle might have taken into consideration the natural effects of the passage of years. And who was it by her side, if not Tirzah?--fair, beautiful, perfect, more mature, but in all other respects exactly the same in

other! Tirzah! tell

master, speak to

th outstretched arms, crying, "M

g started to meet him. Suddenly the mother s

n; come not nearer.

Though they were healed in person, the taint of the scourge might be in their garments ready for communication. He had no such thought. They were before him; he ha

O my children, let us not be ungrateful. Let us begin life

with the rest; and the prayer of t

r, but not with the same clear mind and questio

born, mother, they call him the

r old tenderness, and she answered as

the M

e has he h

e makes of it. Can you te

N

I answer, He has

f us; and though Ben-Hur asked himself what the vanities of the world were to such a one, his ambition was obdurate and would not do

was the first to think

o now, my son? W

ed people; that each had back her perfection of person; that, as with Naaman when he came up out of the water, the

of the stranger would have shunned you

d a sword belt

war?" asked the m

N

n, are yo

ssary to defend

evaded the

emies? Who

, they are no

Israel, and a

n the opinion of the rabbis and tea

t cr

as worthy favor as a Jew of the strictes

conclusion called the Arab, bidding him take the horses to the gate by Bethesda and await him there; whereupon they set out by the way of the Mount of Offence. The return was very different from the coming; they walked rapidly and with e