Scarce less astonished and scarce less dismayed, Stephen stood stricken on the staggering deck; The roaring of the unregarded wind Less noisy than the tumult of his thoughts. The contrast of the horror of such crime To the sweet peace and pleasure he but now Was tasting in the hallowing afterglow Of those bright moments with Euníce spent; The frightful danger overpast for Paul; The retribution, like a thunderbolt, Fallen on Shimei; these, with remembrance mixed Of what the chiliarch, wiser than he knew, Said, touching Shimei with that letter charged Of sinister import to Cæsarea, "He carries his own sentence thither hence"-- 'Unwritten sentence in his bosom, yea, He carried, and he carries, wretched man!' Thought Stephen. 'And what dire things in the world! And God from heaven beholds and suffers all! And what will be the end, if ever end, Of all this tale of wickedness with woe Drawn out from age to age, through clime and clime!' Such thoughts on thoughts held Stephen hanging there Unnoted minutes, till the dash of rain In great drops threatening deluge smote his face Like hailstones, and awoke him to the world. At the same moment, Paul--who had not dreamed Of the swift, muffled, darkling tragedy Of plot and peril, shame and crime and doom, Just acted nigh him in that theater, And microcosm afloat of the wide world-- Broke up the long lull of his reverie Above the running waters, heard, scarce seen, Beneath him, by the hasting vessel's side-- As if a symbol of the mystery Of things, an-hungered to devour all thought!-- And turned to shroud him from the weather wild. The uncle and the nephew met, but spoke Only a peace and farewell for the night; Stephen not finding in his heart to break To Paul the ill good news of what had passed. With the rain falling, soon the wind was laid, Planed was the sea, and cleansed of cloud the sky. Bright the stars looked innumerably down On the ship smoothly sped her prosperous way. BOOK VIII. SHIMEI BEFORE JULIUS. The centurion Julius, having in charge the prisoners on board including Paul, examines Shimei, accused of his crime by the sentinel whom the crafty Hebrew had sought to bribe. Shimei makes a desperate effort to clear himself by bringing a countercharge against Paul of the same murderous attempt through bribe upon his, Shimei's, life. Almost on the point of succeeding, he is confronted first with Felix, then with Stephen, last with Paul--to his complete undoing. SHIMEI BEFORE JULIUS.