cence of the Temple, which the possession of the Antonia afforded, would no doubt inflame the desire of the Roman commander to preserve it uninjured for himself as a splendid trophy of his victory. But the Holy House of God, though now deserted by Him for whose honour it was built, and though given over to desolation, was not to become the pride and glory of a pagan, nor could the earnest and constant endeavours of Titus preserve it from destruction.

Unwillingly, therefore, he gave orders to renew the assault upon the sacred courts; and, having selected a body of his bravest troops, committed the command of them to Cerealis, while he himself took up his station on the summit of the tower, to cheer his soldiers by his own witness of their valour. The ninth hour of the night was again chosen for the attack, as it was hoped that the guards of the Temple might be sleeping, and the gates be taken by surprise. The Jews, however, were found vigilant and alert, and, on the approach of the assailants, rushed forth to the battle with loud shouts! and another desperate affray began. The darkness, the narrowness of the place, and the impetuosity of the antagonists, rendered it soon impossible to distinguish friend from foe; and the battle became an indiscriminate slaughter, each man striking blindly at the one before him. But by and by the day broke, and then the combatants were more easily distinguished by their armour and physiognomy. Each party contended with inflexible valour, alternately encouraged and exhorted by their respective friends above and

around them; for the combat seemed, as it were, on the arena of a theatre ; overlooked on the one side by Titus himself from the turrets of the Antonia, and on the other by John from the cloisters of the Temple. Eight hours the conflict was maintained; but the Romans, though aware that the eye of Cæsar was on them, had not gained an inch of ground, and were at length compelled to relinquish their purpose.

These contests had proved, as Titus had foreseen, that, owing to the narrowness of the space between the Antonia and the Temple, a sufficiently large body of men could not be brought up, to effect the storming of that sacred fortress. He had, therefore, ordered the demolition of a portion of the Antonia, and at length, after seven days had elapsed from its capture, this was accomplished, and a broad, level area formed in front of the Holy House. On this the legions proceeded to erect embankments, though with immense labour, for the materials had to be procured at the distance of a hundred furlongs from the city. These banks, as on the former occasions, were four in number; and, notwithstanding the furious sallies of the Jews, they proceeded to their completion.

In the meantime, as if to cut off those members of the body which were infected, to prevent the distemper from spreading, the Jews themselves set fire to the cloisters that connected the Antonia with the Temple, and thus completely isolated the latter. At the same time, another beautiful portion of the sacred edifice was sacrificed to a successful stratagem. One

of the embankments had been erected opposite the cloisters that ran along the western front. The space that was between the roof and the beams of this colonnade having been filled with pitch and other combustibles, the Jewish garrison affected to retire from the top, as if abandoning, in despair, its further defence. On this, multitudes of the Romans, as had been anticipated, eagerly applying their scaling-ladders, climbed upon the roof, till the space was covered with them. The crafty Jews then fired the mass; and instantly, on every side, burst forth the flames, curving round, and inclosing the deluded assailants as with a wall of fire. The hissing of the manytongued flame, that leaped, and curled, and writhed about them, and the crackling of the timbers, drowned the groans and cries of the dying men, as they rushed helplessly to and fro, and vainly held out their hands to their comrades below. Many cast themselves headlong through the blaze, and were dashed to pieces; others stabbed themselves with their own swords; while some escaped from the fire to the wall of the cloister, where they were surrounded and slain by the exasperated Jews. All perished; and that in the sight of Titus, who could afford them no relief, but the solace of his pity.

By this desperate manœuvre, the whole of the western cloister was destroyed as far as the gate that led to the Xystus, and the remainder was immediately afterwards separated from the Temple. On the next day, the Romans set fire to the northern cloister, and this was destroyed through its whole

length; even to the angle, where it was joined to the east cloister, that looked down into the profundity of the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

Thus the Romans became masters of the Court of chambers of the Court of Israel; but so mighty were the stones, and so compactly fixed, that the incessant blows had not produced the slightest impression upon them. By manual labour the foundations of the

northern gate had been loosened, after herculean efforts; but the inner masonry was still so massive, that the stability of the gate was in no wise affected. Despairing of success by these means, the Romans again attempted to scale the inner cloisters. The ladders were planted and mounted without opposition; but no sooner did an assailant show his head at the

summit, than he was hurled headlong; sometimes a ladder covered with armed men was seized at the top, and by main strength thrown down on those beneath. Sallies were made from below with the usual Jewish valour; in some of these the military engines were captured, and even the eagle-standards were with difficulty preserved.

There remained, therefore, no resource to the besiegers, but the application of fire; and this at length was reluctantly ordered by the Roman general. The legionaries at once piled faggots at the gates, and set them on fire; the silver with which the doors were covered soon becoming red hot, and igniting the wood, the flames spread with rapidity, and caught hold of the cloisters. The Jews were overwhelmed with astonishment, and made no effort to quench the fire, but gazed on it in mute despair. The whole of that day and part of the next did the conflagration go on; not, however, in one mass of spreading fire, but piecemeal, as the soldiers were able to perform the work of destruction.

On the day following, Titus held a council with his principal commanders, as to what should be done with the Holy House. Some advised that it should be utterly demolished; but Titus himself was still disposed to preserve it if possible, for its magnificence, which "would be a perpetual ornament to the Roman dominion." Of course his opinion prevailed; and he commanded that the cohorts should at once make their way through the ruins, and quench the fire. With some difficulty this was done, and the remainder of that day was passed in inaction, as if