The officer retained the gold for himself, for avarice had spread widely among the corrupted troops; and he gave the packet to one of his guard, with an order to carry it as directed. The man thrust it carelessly into his vest, and it was not until the following night that it reached its destination. Naomi was retiring to rest, when Deborah entered her chamber and presented to her the sealed parcel, on which was written, in characters well known to her, "To Naomi, the daughter of Zadok the priest;--with speed." The curiosity of the old domestic kept her in the room while her young mistress tore open the envelope, and hastily perused one of the two letters which it contained. Deborah watched the changing colour of Naomi's cheek, and the tear that started to her eye, but she did not interrogate her, for she knew that the manuscript came from Marcellus; and she retired, leaving the agitated girl to read the letter again and again, and tremble equally for the safety of her betrothed, and that of her parents and herself. The letter of Marcellus contained repeated assurances of his affection, and his anxiety to rescue his affianced bride from the danger that was so rapidly coming on her countrymen. He detailed the force and numbers of the Roman army, and declared the firm resolution of Titus, to persist in the siege until Jerusalem should be in his power. And then, with all the eloquence of love, he besought her to obtain the permission of her parents to leave the wretched city, and take refuge under his father's protection. He added that if she and her faithful Deborah could escape into the valley of Jehosaphat, he and Rufus would meet her and escort her to the camp, where Titus himself had promised to provide her with a strong guard, and send her in safety to the dwelling of an honourable friend of his own at Cæsarea. Marcellus further expressed an ardent wish that Salome could be persuaded to accompany her daughter; but he knew that no consideration would induce her to leave her husband, and that Zadok would die a hundred deaths rather than desert his post in the city at a time of such peril. He minutely pointed out the spot where he hoped she would meet him, in her father's garden by the brook Kedron, at which place he said that he and his father would wait each night for her appearance, with a litter and swift horses, to bear her and her nurse away in safety; and he besought her to lose no time in making up her mind to the step which he proposed, as the operations of the Roman army would be prompt and decisive, and in a few days all possibility of his rescuing her might be gone. Much more was added, and many arguments used to induce the Jewish maid to leave the home of her fathers, and escape the inevitable doom of her rebellious countrymen: but it was all to no purpose. Naomi shed tears over the expressions of Marcellus's devoted attachment, and she felt he had but too much cause to fear that if she remained in Jerusalem she