Pearl-Maiden: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem

by H. Rider Haggard

  Upon the night of the burning of the Temple, Caleb, escaping theslaughter, was driven with Simon the Zealot across the bridge into theUpper City, which bridge they broke down behind them. Once he tried toreturn, in the mad hope that during the confusion he might reach thegate Nicanor and, if she still lived, rescue Miriam. But already theRomans held the head of the bridge, and already the Jews were hacking atits timbers, so in that endeavour he failed and in his heart made surethat Miriam had perished. So bitterly did Caleb mourn, who, fierce andwayward as he was by nature, still loved her more than all the worldbesides, that for six days or more he sought death in every desperateadventure which came to his hand, and they were many. But death fledhim, and on the seventh day he had tidings.

  A man who was hidden among the ruins of the cloisters managed to escapeto the Upper City. From him Caleb learned that the woman, who was saidto have been found upon the roof of the gate Nicanor, had been broughtbefore Titus, who gave her over to the charge of a Roman captain, bywhom she had been taken without the walls. He knew no more. The storywas slight enough, yet it sufficed for Caleb, who was certain that thiswoman must be Miriam. From that moment he determined to abandon thecause of the Jews, which, indeed, was now hopeless, and to seek outMiriam, wherever she might be. Yet, search as he would, another fifteendays went by before he could find his opportunity.

  At length Caleb was placed in charge of a watch upon the wall, and, theother members of his company falling asleep from faintness and fatigue,contrived in the dark to let himself down by a rope which he hadsecreted, dropping from the end of it into the ditch. In this ditch hefound many dead bodies, and from one of them, that of a peasant whohad died but recently, took the clothes and a long winter cloak ofsheepskins, which he exchanged for his own garments. Then, keeping onlyhis sword, which he hid beneath the cloak, he passed the Roman picketsin the gloom and fled into the country. When daylight came Caleb cutoff his beard and trimmed his long hair short. After this, meeting acountryman with a load of vegetables which he had licence to sell in theRoman camp Caleb bought his store from him for a piece of gold, for hewas well furnished with money, promising the simple man that if he saida word of it he would find him out and kill him. Then counterfeiting thespeech and actions of a peasant, which he, who had been brought up amongthem down by the banks of Jordan, well could do, Caleb marched boldly tothe nearest Roman camp and offered his wares for sale.

  Now this camp was situated outside the gate of Gennat, not far from thetower Hippicus. Therefore, it is not strange that although in the courseof his bargaining he made diligent inquiry as to the fate of the girlwho had been taken to the gate Nicanor, Caleb could hear nothing of her,seeing that she was in a camp situated on the Mount of Olives, uponthe other side of Jerusalem. Baffled for that day, Caleb continued hisinquiries on the next, taking a fresh supply of vegetables, which hepurchased from the same peasant, to another body of soldiers camping inthe Valley of Himnon. So he went on from day to day searching thetroops which surrounded the city, and working from the Valley of Himnonnorthwards along the Valley of the Kedron, till on the tenth day he cameto a little hospital camp pitched on the slope of the hill opposite tothe ruin which once had been the Golden Gate. Here, while proffering hisvegetables, he fell into talk with the cook who was sent to chaffer withhim.

  "Ah!" said the cook handling the basket with satisfaction, "it is apity, friend, that you did not bring this stuff here a while ago whenwe wanted it sorely and found it hard to come by in this barren,sword-wasted land."

  "Why?" asked Caleb carelessly.

  "Oh! because of a prisoner we had here, a girl whose sufferings had madeher sick in mind and body, and whose appetite I never knew how to tempt,for she turned from meat, and ever asked for fish, of which, of course,we had none, or failing that, for green food and fruits."

  "What were her name and story?" asked Caleb.

  "As for her name I know it not. We called her Pearl-Maiden because of acollar of pearls she wore and because also she was white and beautifulas a pearl. Oh! beautiful indeed, and so gentle and sweet, even in hersickness, that the roughest brute of a legionary with a broken headcould not choose but to love her. Much more then, that old bear, Gallus,who watched her as though she were his own cub."

  "Indeed? And where is this beautiful lady now? I should like to sell hersomething."

  "Gone, gone, and left us all mourning."

  "Not dead?" said Caleb in a new voice of eager dismay, "Oh! not dead?"

  The fat cook looked at him calmly.

  "You take a strange interest in our Pearl-Maiden, Cabbage-seller," hesaid. "And, now that I come to think of it, you are a strange-lookingman for a peasant."

  With an effort Caleb recovered his self-command.

  "Once I was better off than I am now, friend," he answered. "As youknow, in this country the wheel of fortune has turned rather quick oflate."

  "Yes, yes, and left many crushed flat behind it."

  "The reason why I am interested," went on Caleb, taking no heed, "isthat I may have lost a fine market for my goods."

  "Well, and so you have, friend. Some days ago the Pearl-Maiden departedto Tyre in charge of the captain, Gallus, on her way to Rome. Perhapsyou would wish to follow and sell her your onions there."

  "Perhaps I should," answered Caleb. "When you Romans have gone thisseems likely to become a bad country for gardeners, since owls andjackals do not buy fruit, and you will leave no other living thingbehind you."

  "True," answered the cook. "Caesar knows how to handle a broom and he hasmade a very clean sweep," and he pointed complacently to the heaped-upruins of the Temple before them. "But how much for the whole basketfull?"

  "Take them, friend," said Caleb, "and sell them to your mess forthe best price that you can get. You need not mention that you paidnothing."

  "Oh! no, I won't mention it. Good morning, Mr. Cabbage-grower, goodmorning."

  Then he stood still watching as Caleb vanished quickly among the greatboles of the olive trees. "What can stir a Jew so much," he reflected tohimself, "as to make him give something for nothing, and especially to aRoman? Perhaps he is Pearl-Maiden's brother. No, that can't be from hiseyes--her lover more likely. Well, it is no affair of mine, and althoughhe never grew them, the vegetables are good and fresh."