answers and wisdom of soul. He shall show forth to thee before 595 the multitude with his great power the gift of wisdom, even as thy heart desireth.'

Then she let each man seek his own home in peace, and took Judas alone as hostage. And she earnestly 600 bade him tell the truth concerning the cross, which had been long buried in a secret place. Then Elene, the glorious queen, drew him aside by himself, and thus spake to the lonely man:—'Two ways 650 are ready for thee, either life or death, whichsoever thou shalt please to choose. Declare quickly now which one thou wilt accept.'

And Judas made answer unto her—nor could he rid himself of sorrow and turn away the wrath of his ruler, but he was in the power of the queen—: 610 'How shall it be with him who treadeth the moor in a desert, weary, without food, and tortured with hunger, if before his eyes a loaf and a stone together seem hard and soft, and he knoweth them not apart, but taketh the stone to ward off his 615 hunger, and marketh not the loaf, turneth to want and forsaketh the food, refuseth the better when he hath the choice of both?'

Then openly before the people the blessed Elene gave him answer:—'If thou wouldst have thy life 620 in the world and a home with the angels in the kingdom of heaven, the reward of victory in the sky, tell me straightway where the holy rood of the King of glory lieth under the earth, which ye 625 have hid now for a while from men because of the unrighteous murder.'

Judas answered, and his heart was heavy within him; there was grief in his soul, and woe either way, whether thus he forsook the joy of the 630 heavenly realm and this present kingdom beneath the skies, or disclosed the rood:—'How can I reveal that which came to pass so long ago in the course of years? Two hundred or more in number are now vanished away—I know not the sum of 635 them, and I cannot declare the event. Many of wisdom, of virtue, and of learning, who were before our time, are told among the dead. In days long after was I born, and in my childhood, and in my youth. I may not discover in my heart that which 640 I know not, and which came to pass so long ago.'

Then Elene bespake him in answer:—'Whence cometh it that ye bear in mind so many things, every wondrous deed, such as those which the Trojans 645 wrought in battle? That far-famed war of old was further in the course of years than this holy event, and yet ye know that fully, how to declare at once the number of all that were slain 650 there, and of the spearmen who fell in death beneath their shields. Ye set forth in writing the tombs beneath the rocky cliffs, and likewise the places and the tale of years.'

Then Judas answered—he suffered bitter grief:—'We 655 are mindful of that war from very need, my dear lady, and we set forth in writing the fierce strife and the deeds of the nations, but never have we heard this declared unto men from the mouth 660 of any save here and now.'

And the noble queen gave him answer:—'Too mightily dost thou withstand the truth and the right concerning the tree of life, insomuch as thou spakest 665 verily of the rood of victory before thine own people but a little time ago, and now dost turn to falsehood.'

Judas again spake unto her, and said that he uttered those words in sorrow and exceeding doubt, that he had weened bitter hardship for himself.

Quickly the kinswoman of Cæsar answered him:—'Lo! we have heard it declared unto men from 670 the holy book that the noble Child of the King, the Son of God, was crucified on Calvary. Thou shalt reveal thy knowledge perfectly concerning the field where this place Calvary is, according to the teaching 675 of the Scriptures, ere death and utter destruction snatch thee away for thy sins, that I may thereafter cleanse the cross to be a solace for men, according to the will of Christ. Thus shall the Holy God, the Lord Almighty, Glory-giver of hosts and Helper 680 of souls, fulfill for me my desire and my inmost longing.'

But with stubborn heart Judas answered her:—'I know not the place, nor aught of the field, nor know I the event.'

Then Elene spake with wrath in her heart:—'I 685 swear by the Son of the Creator, by the crucified God, that thou shalt be starved to death before the people of thine own race, save thou forsake this falsehood and fully declare unto me the truth.' 690

Then she bade men take him alive, and throw him, guilty as he was, into a dried-up well—nor did her subjects hesitate. And there, joyless and famished, weighed down with chains, was he to abide in his grief for the space of seven nights. And upon the seventh day, weakened by sorrow, weary, 695 and without food—his strength was broken—he began to call aloud:—'I beseech you by the God of the heavens that ye release me from this misery, 700 for I am brought low by the pangs of starvation. Joyfully will I show forth the holy tree—no longer can I hide it now by reason of my hunger. This durance is too fearful, this need too great, and this torture too bitter day by day. No longer can I 705 endure to suffer, and conceal my knowledge concerning the tree of life, though before I was filled with folly, and confess the truth too late.'

11. THE FINDING OF THE CROSSES.

When she who there held sway over the heroes understood the changed bearing of the man, she 710 straightway bade release him from his prison, his dungeon, his narrow cell. Then quickly they did so, and took him out of the pit with care, as the queen had bidden them. And they resolutely 715 took their way to that place upon the hill where the Lord was crucified on the cross, the Son of God and Prince of the heavenly realm. Weakened by hunger, he knew not yet clearly where through 720 the wiles of the devil the holy rood lay hid beneath the earth, nor where it rested in its tomb, safe in a secret place, long hidden from men.

After a little while he lifted up his voice with unwonted power and spake in Hebrew:—'O Lord 725 Jesus, thou who dost possess the power of judgment, thou who didst form the heaven and the earth and the sea, the broad expanse of waters, and all created things, by the might of thy glory; thou who didst measure out with thine own hands all the sphere of 730 this earth and of the firmament above; thou who dost sit in person, the King of victories, over the most glorious angel-kind; thou who in a mantle of light dost fare through space in surpassing majesty, the nature of man cannot rise in the flesh 735 from the earth-tainted ways unto the bright throng of the pure, the heralds of glory. Thou didst form that host, holy and heavenly, and didst ordain it unto thy service. Six of their number are called 740 by name in joy without end, and they are clothed about with six wings; they are adorned, and gleam brightly. And there are four of their number ever in flight that perform the service of glory 745 before the sight of the eternal Judge, and they continually sing in holiness with clear voices the laud of the King of heaven, fairest of songs, and they chant these words in pure tones—their name is 750 cherubim:—"Holy is the holy God of the archangels, the Lord of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of His majesty, and all His exceeding might is marked with His glory." And there are two among their number in the heavens, the victorious race, 755