weaned you then of faith insorcerers and miracle workers, which you imbibed during your childhoodin the Sabine mountains!"
Then the old woman perceived that Tiberius had never expected any helpfrom the Prophet of Nazareth.
"Why did you let me make the journey to that distant land, if youbelieved all the while that it was useless?"
"You are the only friend I have," said the Emperor. "Why should I denyyour prayer, so long as I still have the power to grant it."
But the old woman did not like it that the Emperor had taken her for afool.
"Ah! this is your usual cunning," she burst out. "This is just what Ican tolerate least in you."
"You should not have come back to me," said Tiberius. "You should haveremained in the mountains."
It looked for a moment as if these two, who had clashed so often, wouldagain fall into a war of words, but the old woman's anger subsidedimmediately. The times were past when she could quarrel in earnest withthe Emperor. She lowered her voice again; but she could not altogetherrelinquish every effort to obtain justice.
"But this man was really a prophet," she said. "I have seen him. Whenhis eyes met mine, I thought he was a god. I was mad to allow him to goto his death."
"I am glad you let him die," said Tiberius. "He was a traitor and adangerous agitator."
Faustina was about to burst into another passion--then checked herself.
"I have spoken with many of his friends in Jerusalem about him," saidshe. "He had not committed the crimes for which he was arraigned."
"Even if he had not committed just these crimes, he was surely no betterthan any one else," said the Emperor wearily. "Where will you find theperson who during his lifetime has not a thousand times deserved death?"
But these remarks of the Emperor decided Faustina to undertake somethingwhich she had until now hesitated about. "I will show you a proof of hispower," said she. "I said to you just now that I laid my kerchief overhis face. It is the same kerchief which I hold in my hand. Will you lookat it a moment?"
She spread the kerchief out before the Emperor, and he saw delineatedthereon the shadowy likeness of a human face.
The old woman's voice shook with emotion as she continued: "This man sawthat I loved him. I know not by what power he was enabled to leave mehis portrait. But mine eyes fill up with tears when I see it."
The Emperor leaned forward and regarded the picture, which appeared tobe made up of blood and tears and the dark shadows of grief. Graduallythe whole face stood out before him, exactly as it had been imprintedupon the kerchief. He saw the blood-drops on the forehead, the piercingthorn-crown, the hair, which was matted with blood, and the mouth whoselips seemed to quiver with agony.
He bent down closer and closer to the picture. The face stood outclearer and clearer. From out the shadow-like outlines, all at once, hesaw the eyes sparkle as with hidden life. And while they spoke to him ofthe most terrible suffering, they also revealed a purity and sublimitywhich he had never seen before.
He lay upon his couch and drank in the picture with his eyes. "Is this amortal?" he said softly and slowly. "Is this a mortal?"
Again he lay still and regarded the picture. The tears began to streamdown his cheeks. "I mourn over thy death, thou Unknown!" he whispered.
"Faustina!" he cried out at last. "Why did you let this man die? Hewould have healed me."
And again he was lost in the picture.
"O Man!" he said, after a moment, "if I can not gain my health fromthee, I can still avenge thy murder. My hand shall rest heavily uponthose who have robbed me of thee!"
Again he lay still a long time; then he let himself glide down to thefloor--and he knelt before the picture:
"Thou art Man!" said he. "Thou art that which I never dreamed I shouldsee." And he pointed to his disfigured face and destroyed hands. "I andall others are wild beasts and monsters, but thou art Man."
He bowed his head so low before the picture that it touched the floor."Have pity on me, thou Unknown!" he sobbed, and his tears watered thestones.
"If thou hadst lived, thy glance alone would have healed me," he said.
The poor old woman was terror-stricken over what she had done. It wouldhave been wiser not to show the Emperor the picture, thought she. Fromthe start she had been afraid that if he should see it his grief wouldbe too overwhelming.
And in her despair over the Emperor's grief, she snatched the pictureaway, as if to remove it from his sight.
Then the Emperor looked up. And, lo! his features were transformed, andhe was as he had been before the illness. It was as if the illness hadhad its root and sustenance in the contempt and hatred of mankind whichhad lived in his heart; and it had been forced to flee the very momenthe had felt love and compassion.
The following day Tiberius despatched three messengers.
The first messenger traveled to Rome with the command that the Senateshould institute investigations as to how the governor of Palestineadministered his official duties and punish him, should it appear thathe oppressed the people and condemned the innocent to death.
The second messenger went to the vineyard-laborer and his wife, to thankthem and reward them for the counsel they had given the Emperor, andalso to tell them how everything had turned out. When they had heardall, they wept silently, and the man said: "I know that all my life Ishall ponder what would have happened if these two had met." But thewoman answered: "It could not happen in any other way. It was too greata thought that these two should meet. God knew that the world could notsupport it."
The third messenger traveled to Palestine and brought back with him toCapri some of Jesus' disciples, and these began to teach there thedoctrine that had been preached by the Crucified One.
When the disciples landed at Capri, old Faustina lay upon her death-bed.Still they had time before her death to make of her a follower of thegreat Prophet, and to baptize her. And in the baptism she was calledVeronica, because to her it had been granted to give to mankind the truelikeness of their Saviour.
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Robin Redbreast]
ROBIN REDBREAST
It happened at the time when our Lord created the world, when He notonly made heaven and earth, but all the animals and the plants as well,at the same time giving them their names.
There have been many histories concerning that time, and if we knew themall, we should have light upon everything in this world which we can notnow comprehend.
At that time it happened one day when our Lord sat in His Paradise andpainted the little birds, that the colors in our Lord's paint pot gaveout, and the goldfinch would have been without color if our Lord had notwiped all His paint brushes on its feathers.
It was then that the donkey got his long ears, because he could notremember the name that had been given him.
No sooner had he taken a few steps over the meadows of Paradise than heforgot, and three times he came back to ask his name. At last our Lordgrew somewhat impatient, took him by his two ears, and said:
"Thy name is ass, ass, ass!" And while He thus spake our Lord pulledboth of his ears that the ass might hear better, and remember what wassaid to him. It was on the same day, also, that the bee was punished.
Now, when the bee was created, she began immediately to gather honey,and the animals and human beings who caught the delicious odor of thehoney came and wanted to taste of it. But the bee wanted to keep it allfor herself and with her poisonous sting pursued every living creaturethat approached her hive. Our Lord saw this and at once called the beeto Him and punished her.
"I gave thee the gift of gathering honey, which is the sweetest thing inall creation," said our Lord, "but I did not give thee the right to becruel to thy neighbor. Remember well that every time thou stingest anycreature who desires to taste of thy honey, thou shalt surely die!"
Ah, yes! It was at that time, too, that the cricket became blind and theant missed her wings, so many stran
ge things happened on that day!
Our Lord sat there, big and gentle, and planned and created all daylong, and towards evening He conceived the idea of making a little graybird. "Remember your name is Robin Redbreast," said our Lord to thebird, as soon as it was finished. Then He held it in the palm of Hisopen hand and let it fly.
After the bird had been testing his wings a while, and had seensomething of the beautiful world in which he was destined to live, hebecame curious to see what he himself was like. He noticed that he wasentirely gray, and that his breast was just as gray as all the rest ofhim. Robin Redbreast twisted and turned in all directions as he viewedhimself in the mirror of a clear lake, but he couldn't find a single redfeather. Then he flew back to our Lord.
Our Lord sat there on His throne, big and gentle. Out of
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