It was an unprecedented state of society, and never may the world again behold its equal! It was civil war in its most dreadful form. The city held within its walls many conflicting parties, and each was animated by the most deadly feelings of hatred towards the others. Murder and rapine prevailed in every quarter, while religious zeal yet distinguished many individuals of each party. The blood of bulls and goats flowed in sacrifice from the altars that still remained uncleansed from the human gore that had been shed in the frequent combats within the temple. None moved through the streets unarmed or unattended; and a strong guard generally accompanied any female of distinction who was induced to venture far from home. And yet in the midst of all this crime and misery the wildest dissipation was carried on. It was not only in the house of Mary of Bethezob that feasts and revels were celebrated; the dwellings of numbers of the rich and gay sent forth the sounds of music and of mirth as loudly and as frequently as when Zion dwelt in peace, and none could harm them. Such thoughtless levity appears incomprehensible; but danger had become familiar to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and they seemed heedless of the scenes of bloodshed that daily met their eyes. Is it not the same infatuation that now blinds the eyes of our fellow-sinners around us, who walk on in a course of sin and folly, and mark not the warnings that are vouchsafed to them by the Lord, and dread not the destruction into which they see their companions falling day by day?--a destruction more appalling and more lasting than the death and the miseries inflicted by the Zealot robbers of Jerusalem. It was midnight before Javan returned to his father's house. When the lawless band had been expelled from Mary's house, and driven to their own abode in the temple courts, he was slowly proceeding homewards, and meditating on the period when he could safely summon the son of Gioras to enter the city, and take the lead among so many contending parties. He hoped that the presence of Simon would put an end to the lesser factions, and he determined to use every exertion to prepare the way for his reception. He was engaged with these reflections when his friend Isaac approached him, accompanied by a stranger in the garb of a domestic. The streets were dark, but the man carried a lamp, which threw its light on a countenance well suited to take a part in the bloody and vindictive scenes that characterized the time, and had already hardened the hearts of the greatest part of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.