These were the men, and the sons of the men, who forty years earlier had cried “Crucify Him! crucify Him!” And now they themselves were crucified--some on the very site of Golgotha itself!--in such numbers that, in the language of Josephus, “room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies.” And the victims, if they but chose to look, could see overhead in the sky the red gleam of the heavenly sword. Stay! was it the figure of a sword, or was it not rather _the likeness of a cross_, intended to remind them of the greatest and most awful tragedy in the world’s history? Vashti’s head swam with horror; a mist obscured her vision; air and landscape seemed slowly turning to one universal blood-red hue. Her wild wail went forth upon the night air: “O God, have mercy upon this hapless city!” It was past the sixth hour of the night when Vashti, with her basket of bread upon her arm, reached home. Closing and barring the gate behind her, she went along the short passage, and crossed the little court. Entering a chamber upon the ground floor she paused for a moment and stood in the attitude of listening. She had so expected to hear Arad’s plaintive cry for food that it was almost a disappointment to find the house as silent as the tomb. Evidently Arad was sleeping, unless indeed----! Her heart almost stood still at the dread thought that suddenly smote her. But no! she was alarming herself without cause. A two days’ fast, though it might very much weaken a child, would not kill him. Arad must be sleeping. She smiled lovingly as she pictured his delight when he should awake and see what his sister had brought him. If mother and son were sleeping it could not be otherwise that the house should be without sound; yet in the prevailing stillness that hung about the place like a tangible veil there was something so strange and oppressive as to fill Vashti with vague fears. Her tread on entering had sounded so hollow that she had paused, almost fearing to take a second step. For the first time in her life she feared the darkness. Plucking up her courage, she moved through the gloom towards the stairway that stood in one corner of the room. When she was half-way across the floor her foot touched some object; moved by curiosity she stooped, and picking the thing up found it to be--_a long knife_! Now when Vashti had last gone through this room there was no knife lying upon the floor; her sandal had become loose upon this very spot; she had knelt to tie the string, and the knife, had it been lying there at that time, could scarcely have failed to come within the ken of her vision. Evidently someone must have entered this room during her absence; doubtless Miriam.