all the while the sibyl thought herself standingbeside the shepherds' fire, and that she listened to a faint sound whichcame trembling through the dead-still night? She heard it long beforeshe marked that it did not come from the earth, but from the sky. Atlast she raised her head; then she saw light, shimmering forms glideforward in the darkness. They were little flocks of angels, who, singingjoyously, and apparently searching, flew back and forth above the wideplain.
While the sibyl was listening to the angel-song, the Emperor was makingpreparations for a new sacrifice. He washed his hands, cleansed thealtar, and took up the other dove. And, although he exerted his fullstrength to hold it fast, the dove's slippery body slid from his hand,and the bird swung itself up into the impenetrable night.
The Emperor was appalled! He fell upon his knees and prayed to hisgenius. He implored him for strength to avert the disasters which thisnight seemed to foreshadow.
Nor did the sibyl hear any of this either. She was listening with herwhole soul to the angel-song, which grew louder and louder. At last itbecame so powerful that it wakened the shepherds. They raised themselveson their elbows and saw shining hosts of silver-white angels move in thedarkness in long, swaying lines, like migratory birds. Some held lutesand cymbals in their hands; others held zithers and harps, and theirsong rang out as merry as child-laughter, and as care-free as the lark'strill. When the shepherds heard this, they rose up to go to the mountaincity, where they lived, to tell of the miracle.
They groped their way forward on a narrow, winding path, and the sibylfollowed them. Suddenly it grew light up there on the mountain: a big,clear star kindled right over it, and the city on the mountain summitglittered like silver in the starlight. All the fluttering angel throngshastened thither, shouting for joy, and the shepherds hurried so thatthey almost ran. When they reached the city, they found that the angelshad assembled over a low stable near the city gate. It was a wretchedstructure, with a roof of straw and the naked cliff for a back wall.Over it hung the Star, and hither flocked more and more angels. Someseated themselves on the straw roof or alighted upon the steepmountain-wall back of the house; others, again, held themselves in theair on outspread wings, and hovered over it. High, high up, the air wasilluminated by the shining wings.
The instant the Star kindled over the mountain city, all Nature awoke,and the men who stood upon Capitol Hill could not help seeing it. Theyfelt fresh, but caressing winds which traveled through space; deliciousperfumes streamed up about them; trees swayed; the Tiber began tomurmur; the stars twinkled, and suddenly the moon stood out in the skyand lit up the world. And out of the clouds the two doves came circlingdown and lighted upon the Emperor's shoulders.
When this miracle happened, Augustus rose, proud and happy, but hisfriends and his slaves fell on their knees.
"Hail, Caesar!" they cried. "Thy genius hath answered thee. Thou art thegod who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!"
And this cry of homage, which the men in their transport gave as atribute to the Emperor, was so loud that the old sibyl heard it. Itwaked her from her visions. She rose from her place on the edge of thecliff, and came down among the people. It was as if a dark cloud hadarisen from the abyss and rushed down the mountain height. She wasterrifying in her extreme age! Coarse hair hung in matted tangles aroundher head, her joints were enlarged, and the dark skin, hard as the barkof a tree, covered her body with furrow upon furrow.
Potent and awe-inspiring, she advanced toward the Emperor. With one handshe clutched his wrist, with the other she pointed toward the distantEast.
"Look!" she commanded, and the Emperor raised his eyes and saw. Thevaulted heavens opened before his eyes, and his glance traveled to thedistant Orient. He saw a lowly stable behind a steep rock wall, and inthe open doorway a few shepherds kneeling. Within the stable he saw ayoung mother on her knees before a little child, who lay upon a bundleof straw on the floor.
And the sibyl's big, knotty fingers pointed toward the poor babe. "Hail,Caesar!" cried the sibyl, in a burst of scornful laughter. "There is thegod who shall be worshiped on Capitol Hill!"
Then Augustus shrank back from her, as from a maniac. But upon the sibylfell the mighty spirit of prophecy. Her dim eyes began to burn, herhands were stretched toward heaven, her voice was so changed that itseemed not to be her own, but rang out with such resonance and powerthat it could have been heard over the whole world. And she utteredwords which she appeared to be reading among the stars.
"Upon Capitol Hill shall the Redeemer of the world beworshiped,--_Christ_--but not frail mortals."
When she had said this, she strode past the terror-stricken men, walkedslowly down the mountain, and disappeared.
But, on the following day, Augustus strictly forbade the people to raiseany temple to him on Capitol Hill. In place of it he built a sanctuaryto the new-born God-Child, and called it Heaven's Altar--_Ara Coeli_.
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The Wise Men's Well]
THE WISE MEN'S WELL
In old Judea the Drought crept, gaunt and hollow-eyed, between shrunkenthistles and yellowed grass.
It was summertime. The sun beat down upon the backs of unshaded hills,and the slightest breath of wind tore up thick clouds of lime dust fromthe grayish-white ground. The herds stood huddled together in thevalleys, by the dried-up streams.
The Drought walked about and viewed the water supplies. He wandered overto Solomon's Pools, and sighed as he saw that they still held a smallquantity of water from their mountain sources. Then he journeyed down tothe famous David's Well, near Bethlehem, and found water even there.Finally, he tramped with shuffling gait toward the great highway whichleads from Bethlehem to Jerusalem.
When he had arrived about half-way, he saw the Wise Men's Well, where itstands close by the roadside. He saw at a glance that it was almost dry.He seated himself on the curb, which consists of a single stone hollowedout, and looked into the well. The shining water-mirror, which usuallywas seen very near the opening, had sunk deep down, and the dirt andslime at the bottom of the well made it muddy and impure.
When the Well beheld the Drought's bronzed visage reflected in herclouded mirror, she shook with anguish.
"I wonder when you will be exhausted," said the Drought. "Surely, you donot expect to find any fresh water source, down there in the deep, tocome and give you new life; and as for rain--God be praised! there canbe no question of that for the next two or three months."
"You may rest content," sighed the Well, "for nothing can help me now.It would take no less than a well-spring from Paradise to save me!"
"Then I will not forsake you until every drop has been drained," saidthe Drought. He saw that the old Well was nearing its end, and now hewanted to have the pleasure of seeing it die out drop by drop.
He seated himself comfortably on the edge of the curb, and rejoiced ashe heard how the Well sighed down there in the deep. He also took a keendelight in watching the thirsty wayfarers come up to the well-curb, letdown the bucket, and draw it up again, with only a few drops of muddywater.
Thus the whole day passed; and when darkness descended, the Droughtlooked again into the Well. A little water still shimmered down there."I'll stay here all night," cried he, "so do not hurry yourself! When itgrows so light that I can look into you once more, I am certain that allwill be over with you."
The Drought curled himself up on the edge of the well-curb, while thehot night, which was even more cruel, and more full of torment than theday had been, descended over Judea. Dogs and jackals howled incessantly,and thirsty cows and asses answered them from their stuffy stalls.
When the breeze stirred a little now and then, it brought with it norelief, but was as hot and suffocating as a great sleeping monster'spanting breath. The stars shone with the most resplendent brilliancy,and a little silvery new moon cast a pretty blue-green light over thegray hills. And in this light the Drought saw a great caravan comemarching toward the hil
l where the Wise Men's Well was situated.
The Drought sat and gazed at the long procession, and rejoiced again atthe thought of all the thirst which was coming to the well, and wouldnot find one drop of water with which to slake itself. There were somany animals and drivers they could easily have emptied the Well, evenif it had been quite full. Suddenly he began to think there wassomething unusual, something ghost-like, about this caravan which camemarching forward in the night. First, all the camels came within sighton a hill, which loomed up, high and distinct, against the horizon; itwas as though they had stepped straight down from heaven. They alsoappeared to be larger than ordinary camels, and bore--all toolightly--the enormous burdens which weighted them.
Still he could not understand anything but that they were absolutelyreal, for to him they were just as plain as plain could be. He couldeven see that the three foremost animals