Crispus and Rufus were allotted places next each other, not, however, at the chief triclinium where were Titus, Berenice, Agrippa, Alexander, and others, but at an adjacent triclinium, an arrangement that suited the two friends, who were thus enabled to talk with more freedom than they could have enjoyed at Cæsar’s table. At the same triclinium with Crispus was Josephus, who had his place next to the Roman. “Do you know the humiliation intended for Vashti?” asked Crispus. Josephus signified assent, adding: “Aware that your presence here will save her, I can await the issue with a serene mind.” “Rufus,” whispered Crispus to his friend, “you have been communicating our plan to Josephus.” But as Rufus gave an emphatic denial to this, Crispus was not a little puzzled by the words of Josephus. By the side of the historian sat a stately and venerable dame. “My mother,” remarked Josephus, “and her purpose in being here is the same as mine,” he added with a mysterious smile, “to obtain Vashti’s freedom.” It seemed from this that Josephus, too, had some plan for delivering his ward from Berenice’s hands. What was the nature of the plan, and was it likely to succeed? But to all questioning Josephus remained provokingly evasive, so that Crispus was fain to hold his soul in patience. It soon became clear, however, from the conversation of Josephus, that he was animated by a spirit of bitter hostility to Berenice, caused by her patronage of those amphitheatrical games in which Jews were pitilessly butchered. Titus, too, came in for a share of his animadversions. “He hath ordered that the didrachmas which every adult Jew is accustomed to pay annually into the temple treasury, shall now be paid into the temple of the Capitoline Jupiter. You, as a Christian, can understand the feeling of the Jew in this matter. And the golden cherubim that overshadowed the mercy seat he hath given to the heathen; the sacred figures which none but the high priest was permitted to see are now profanely placed as a trophy over the eastern gate of Antioch, so that it is beginning to be known as the Gate of the Cherubim. And nigh to it he hath dedicated a chariot to the Moon, for the help which she hath given him during the siege. The moon, forsooth!” The signal for the feast was now given, and richly clad slaves, both male and female, moved to and fro, attentive to the wants of the guests. “I do not see Vashti,” whispered Crispus to Josephus. “She will not enter till the drinking begins.” Gay conversation went on all around, but Crispus took little or no part in it. Vashti! Vashti! was the one thought of his mind. At last repletion came to the guests; both the heavier and the lighter dishes were removed from the tables to make way for the wines. “And now, my lords,” cried Berenice, addressing those at her own triclinium, but speaking sufficiently loud for Crispus to hear, “I have a rare vintage for you, to be offered by a cup-bearer as graceful as Hebe herself.”