It is a love greater than all other
things--fame or king or fatherland."
"Or revenge?" inquired David.
For a little Vergilius made no answer; but presently he said: "I am a
Roman; who seeks my life shall lose his own."
They came upon a ewe lying in the roadway. She looked up with a mute
appeal, but moved not. She seemed to reckon upon the kindness of them
approaching. The squad parted, passing on either side. All drew rein,
and one, dismounting, stood a moment looking down at her. Then laying
hold of her fleece, he moved the ewe tenderly aside.
"A sign and a wonder!" said the Roman knight, as they continued their
journey. "That old fighter has no hand for kindness."
"But mark this miracle of God," said the friend of Vergilius. "He
softens the heart of those with young and makes gentle the hand that
touches them. Ay, has he not softened the heart of the world? 'Tis
like a mother whose time is near."
Soon a purple dusk had overflooded the hills and risen above the
splendor of Jerusalem. The old capital was now like a dim, mysterious,
golden isle in a vast, azure sea.
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