FURIOUS SALLY FROM THE CITY.

27

the wall, so as to cover the engineers, Titus ordered the rams to play. At three different places they began their thundering work; the besieged answered with shouts, but shouts of terror. It became evident that nothing less than a united effort could now repel the foe. Simon proclaimed an amnesty to all John's followers, who would descend to man the wall. John, though still suspicious, did not oppose their going; so the two parties fought side by side from the walls with emulous valour, striving to set the engines on fire, by discharging combustibles from above; others sallied forth in troops, tore the defences from the engines, and killed the engineers. Titus, on his side, was indefatigable; he posted horsemen and bowmen in the intervals between the machines, to repel the assailants. So the formidable machines, called Helepoleis, the takers of cities, pursued undisturbed their furious battering. At length a corner tower came down, but the walls stood firm, and offered no practicable

breach.

Whether awed by this circumstance, or weary with fighting, the Jews seemed on a sudden to desist from their furious sallies. The Romans were dispersed about the works and intrenchments. Suddenly, through an unperceived gate, near the tower Hippicus, the whole united force of the besieged came pouring forth with flaming brands to set the machines on fire. They spread on to the edge of the intrenchments. The Romans gathered hastily but Jewish valour prevailed over Roman discipline. The besiegers were put to flight, and then a terrible conflict took place about the engines, which had all heen fired, but for the manful resistance of some Alexandrians, who gave Cæsar time to come up with his horse. Titus killed twelve men with his own hand, and the rest at length sullenly retreated one Jew was taken prisoner, and crucified-the first instance of that unjustifiable barbarity—before the

walls. John, the captain of the Idumeans, was shot by an Arab, during a parley with a Roman soldier; he was a man of courage and prudence, and his death was greatly lamented. Exhausted with the conflict of the day, the Roman army retired to repose. There was a total silence throughout the vast camp, broken only by the pacing of the sentinel; when suddenly a tremendous crash seemed to shake the earth, and the crumbling noise of falling stones continued for a few moments. The Legionaries started to arms, and, half naked, looked through the dim night, expecting every instant to see the gleaming swords and furious faces of their enemies glaring upon them. All was still and motionless. They stood gazing upon each other, and hastily passed the word; and as their own men began to move about, they mistook them for the enemy, and were well nigh seized with a panic flight. The presence of Titus reassured them, and the cause of the alarm soon became known. They had built three towers upon their embankment, nearly ninety feet high; one of them had fallen with its own weight, and given rise to the confusion.

These towers did the most fatal damage to the Jews. Beyond the range of arrows from their height, from their weight they were not to be overthrown, and being plated with iron, would not take fire. From the tops of these the men showered continually every kind of missile, till at length the defenders retired from the walls, and left the battering engines to perform their work undisturbed. There was one of these Helepoleis, or battering engines, called by the Jews themselves Nico, the Victorious, for it beat down every thing before it. Nico did not cease to thunder day and night, till at length the wall began to totter. The Jews, exhausted by fatigue, and harassed with passing the night far from their own houses within the city, began to grow careless and indifferent about the suburb; and at once, abandon

STRATAGEM OF CASTOR.

29

ing their posts, retreated to the second wall. The Romans entered Bezetha, and threw down a great part of the wall. Titus took up a position, near what was called the Camp of the Assyrians, stretching as far as the brook Cedron, and he immediately gave orders for the attack of the second wall. Here the conflict became more terrible than ever: the party of John defended the Antonia and the northern cloister of the temple; that of Simon, the rest of the wall to a gate, through which an aqueduct passed to the tower Hippicus. The Jews made perpetual sallies, and fought with the most dauntless courage. Without the wall the Roman discipline in general prevailed, and they were driven back; from the walls, on the other hand, they had manifest advantage. Both parties passed the night in arms--the Jews from fear of leaving their walls defencelessthe Romans, in constant dread of a surprise. At dawn, the battle began again: on the one hand, Simon acted the part of a most gallant commander, and his influence and example excited his men to the most daring exploits; on the other, the desire of speedily putting an end to the war; the confidence in their own superior discipline; the assurance that the Roman arms were irresistible; the pride of their first success; above all, the presence of Titus, kept up the stubborn courage of the assailants. Longinus, a Roman knight, greatly distinguished himself, by charging singly into a whole squadron of the Jews; he killed two men, and came safely off. But the Jews were entirely reckless of their own lives, and sacrificed them readily if they could but kill one of their enemies. Before long, the great Helepoleis began to thunder against the central tower of the wall. The defenders fled in terror, except a man named Castor, and ten others. At first, these men lay quiet; but as the tower began to totter above their heads, they rose, and stretched out their hands supplication. Castor called on

Titus ordered

Titus by name, and entreated mercy. the shocks of the engine, and the discharge of arrows, to cease, and gave Castor permission to speak. Castor expressed his earnest desire to surrender, to which Titus replied, that he would the whole city were of the same mind, and inclined honourably to capitulate. Five of Castor's men appeared to take his part; the other five, with savage cries, to reproach them for their dastardly baseness. A fierce quarrel seemed to ensue; in the mean time, the attack was entirely suspended, and Castor sent secret notice to Simon, that he would amuse the emperor some time longer. In the mean time, he appeared to be earnestly expostulating with the opposite party, who stood upon the breastworks, brandishing their swords; and at length, striking their own bosoms, seemingly fell dead. The Romans, who did not see very distinctly from below, were amazed at what they supposed the desperate resolution of the men, and even pitied their fate. In the mean time, Castor was wounded in the nose by an arrow, which he drew out, and showed it indignantly to Cæsar, as if he had been ungenerously treated. Titus sternly rebuked the man who had shot it, and desired Josephus to go forward and parley with Castor. But Josephus knew his countrymen too well, and declined the service. Upon this, one Æneas, a deserter, offered his services. Castor called him to come near to catch some money, which he wished to throw down. Æneas opened the folds of his robe to receive it, and Castor immediately levelled a huge stone at his head; it missed Æneas, but wounded a soldier near him. Cæsar, furious at having been thus tricked, ordered the engines to be worked more vigorously than ever. Castor and his men set the tower on fire, and when it was blazing, appeared to leap boldly into the flames; in fact, they had thrown themselves into a subterraneous passage, which led into the city.

THE SECOND WALL LOST AND RETAKEN. 31

The fifth day the Jews retreated from the second wall, and Titus entered that part of the lower city, which was within it, with 1000 picked men. The streets of the wool sellers, the braziers, and the clothiers, led obliquely to the wall.

Instead of throwing down the walls and burning as he went on, Titus, with a view of gaining the people, issued orders that no houses should be set on fire, and no massacre committed. He gave out, that he was desirous of separating the cause of the people from that of the garrison, that to the former he would readily restore all their property. The fierce insurgents hailed this as a sign of weakness, threatened all the people with instant death if they stirred, slew without mercy every one who uttered a word about peace, and then fell furiously on the Romans. Some fought on the houses, some from the walls; some along the narrow streets; others sallying from the upper gates fell on the camp behind. The guards who were upon the walls leaped down, and totally abandoned their companions within the newly conquered part of the city. All was confusion; those who reached the wall were surrounded, and looked in vain for succour from their associated without, who had enough to do to defend their own camp. The Jews increased every instant in numbers, they knew every lane and alley of the city, they appeared on every side, and started up where they were the least expected. The Romans could not retreat, for the narrowness of the breach would only allow them to retire very slowly. Titus, at last, came to their assistance, and by placing archers at the ends of the lanes and streets, kept the assailants back, and at last brought off most of his men, but they had totally lost the fruits of their victory.

This success raised the spirits of the besieged to the highest pitch of elevation; they thought that whenever the Romans should venture again into the