Ben-Hur; a tale of the Christ

by Lew Wallace

  CHAPTER II

  When the city came into view, the passengers were on deck, eager thatnothing of the scene might escape them. The respectable Jew alreadyintroduced to the reader was the principal spokesman.

  "The river here runs to the west," he said, in the way of generalanswer. "I remember when it washed the base of the walls; but asRoman subjects we have lived in peace, and, as always happensin such times, trade has had its will; now the whole river frontis taken up with wharves and docks. Yonder"--the speaker pointedsouthward--"is Mount Casius, or, as these people love to call it,the Mountains of Orontes, looking across to its brother Amnus inthe north; and between them lies the Plain of Antioch. Farther onare the Black Mountains, whence the Ducts of the Kings bring thepurest water to wash the thirsty streets and people; yet they areforests in wilderness state, dense, and full of birds and beasts."

  "Where is the lake?" one asked.

  "Over north there. You can take horse, if you wish to see it--or,better, a boat, for a tributary connects it with the river."

  "The Grove of Daphne!" he said, to a third inquirer. "Nobody candescribe it; only beware! It was begun by Apollo, and completedby him. He prefers it to Olympus. People go there for one look--justone--and never come away. They have a saying which tells itall--'Better be a worm and feed on the mulberries of Daphne thana king's guest.'"

  "Then you advise me to stay away from it?"

  "Not I! Go you will. Everybody goes, cynic philosopher, virile boy,women, and priests--all go. So sure am I of what you will do that Iassume to advise you. Do not take quarters in the city--that willbe loss of time; but go at once to the village in the edge of thegrove. The way is through a garden, under the spray of fountains.The lovers of the god and his Penaean maid built the town; and inits porticos and paths and thousand retreats you will find charactersand habits and sweets and kinds elsewhere impossible. But the wallof the city! there it is, the masterpiece of Xeraeus, the masterof mural architecture."

  All eyes followed his pointing finger.

  "This part was raised by order of the first of the Seleucidae.Three hundred years have made it part of the rock it rests upon."

  The defense justified the encomium. High, solid, and with manybold angles, it curved southwardly out of view.

  "On the top there are four hundred towers, each a reservoir ofwater," the Hebrew continued. "Look now! Over the wall, tall asit is, see in the distance two hills, which you may know as therival crests of Sulpius. The structure on the farthest one isthe citadel, garrisoned all the year round by a Roman legion.Opposite it this way rises the Temple of Jupiter, and under thatthe front of the legate's residence--a palace full of offices,and yet a fortress against which a mob would dash harmlessly asa south wind."

  At this point the sailors began taking in sail, whereupon theHebrew exclaimed, heartily, "See! you who hate the sea, and youwho have vows, get ready your curses and your prayers. The bridgeyonder, over which the road to Seleucia is carried, marks thelimit of navigation. What the ship unloads for further transit,the camel takes up there. Above the bridge begins the island uponwhich Calinicus built his new city, connecting it with five greatviaducts so solid time has made no impression upon them, nor floodsnor earthquakes. Of the main town, my friends, I have only to say youwill be happier all your lives for having seen it."

  As he concluded, the ship turned and made slowly for her wharf underthe wall, bringing even more fairly to view the life with which theriver at that point was possessed. Finally, the lines were thrown,the oars shipped, and the voyage was done. Then Ben-Hur sought therespectable Hebrew.

  "Let me trouble you a moment before saying farewell."

  The man bowed assent.

  "Your story of the merchant has made me curious to see him.You called him Simonides?"

  "Yes. He is a Jew with a Greek name."

  "Where is he to be found?"

  The acquaintance gave a sharp look before he answered,

  "I may save you mortification. He is not a money-lender."

  "Nor am I a money-borrower," said Ben-Hur, smiling at the other'sshrewdness.

  The man raised his head and considered an instant.

  "One would think," he then replied, "that the richest merchantin Antioch would have a house for business corresponding to hiswealth; but if you would find him in the day, follow the river toyon bridge, under which he quarters in a building that looks like abuttress of the wall. Before the door there is an immense landing,always covered with cargoes come and to go. The fleet that liesmoored there is his. You cannot fail to find him."

  "I give you thanks."

  "The peace of our fathers go with you."

  "And with you."

  With that they separated.

  Two street-porters, loaded with his baggage, received Ben-Hur'sorders upon the wharf.

  "To the citadel," he said; a direction which implied an officialmilitary connection.

  Two great streets, cutting each other at right angles, divided thecity into quarters. A curious and immense structure, called theNymphaeum, arose at the foot of the one running north and south.When the porters turned south there, the new-comer, though freshfrom Rome, was amazed at the magnificence of the avenue. On theright and left there were palaces, and between them extendedindefinitely double colonnades of marble, leaving separateways for footmen, beasts, and chariots; the whole under shade,and cooled by fountains of incessant flow.

  Ben-Hur was not in mood to enjoy the spectacle. The story ofSimonides haunted him. Arrived at the Omphalus--a monument offour arches wide as the streets, superbly illustrated, and erectedto himself by Epiphanes, the eighth of the Seleucidae--he suddenlychanged his mind.

  "I will not go to the citadel to-night," he said to the porters."Take me to the khan nearest the bridge on the road to Seleucia."

  The party faced about, and in good time he was deposited in a publichouse of primitive but ample construction, within stone's-throw ofthe bridge under which old Simonides had his quarters. He lay uponthe house-top through the night. In his inner mind lived the thought,"Now--now I will hear of home--and mother--and the dear little Tirzah.If they are on earth, I will find them."