IMPERA/iTE TIBERIO.

THE Secretary of State rose with a yawn from his study table, leaving on it the proof of a half-corrected despatch. He took down from a shelf a volume of a history of his own people, opened it where a marker was placed at a page headed " Antiqui- ties, Bk. XVIII., c. III.," settled himself in an armchair, and began to read. He had had a hard day's work, and by the time he had read two paragraphs he dozed. This was his dream.

A thin sallow man, general appearance hard and ascetic, hair grizzled and scanty, wrinkles furrowing his forehead and cheeks, tired lines round dark keen eyes, was reclining on his elbow on a couch in a small bare room ornamented with frescoes. His costume was much like that which the Secretary of State had recently seen Caesar wearing in the house scene at St. James' Theatre. Before him stood a young, square jawed, sunburnt man in the uniform of a Roman officer.

" Well, Quintus," said the man on the couch, " there will be something for you to do here shortly. I had better explain the position. There is going to be trouble, nominally religious objections to this new aqueduct I am building here, but the real thing is that those two high priests have made up their differences for the time, and seem inclined to cut our throats instead of each other's. That by itself wouldn't matter, but they have been corresponding with Vitellius' Greek secretaries at Antioch ; they know I am not in favour in that quarter ; they know the stuff he has been writing to me about sympathetic methods, and they reckon on my not being supported if I do anything. Since I gave way to them last year over that matter of bringing the images of the Emperor here—which I certainly was a fool to do— they think I am a has been. Now I could stand a row with them, and with Vitellius too, but we have serious reports from the fron- tier. There are large bodies of Parthian cavalry on the other bank of the Euphrates ; none of our people are allowed to cross the river, and there are Parthian agents in this town. If we have real trouble here, the high priests will invite a Parthian

raid ; that means war, and war is what they won't have at Rome. If Tiberius were his old self, things would be different, but all his time is taken up in inventing new forms of vice at Capreae, and Sejanus must have peace. That is our position. T4e first card the Jews will play is a riot in this town. Can yoti deal with it 1 " " Well, sir," said the officer, "if I have my own way, I can; if the Jews have theirs, I can't. Their game would be a straggling city riot, with my men entangled in the streets and their old women on the housetops with bricks. Those bricks always seem to pick out one's best centurions ; and when they are gone my

Gauls and Britons in a town like this would be no better than so

many Jews. I couldn't control the town with two legions on those terms, and I have only a cohort here. But give me as many Jews as you like in an open space where my men can deal with them, and I'll have Hierosolyma as quiet as a meeting of the Vestal virgins for the next year or two."

" Just so ; then your work is finished and my troubles begin. Deputations from here to Antioch, complaining of my provocative methods and unparalleled brutality. Sympathetic reception of them by Vitellius. You know how he got his proconsulship ? " Quintus grinned. " I heard it was earned at Capreae."

" Yes ; and he holds it by similar methods. I wish he had my job, or his old one of village judge. He'll report to Rome that I have exceeded my instructions ; his secretaries will write privately to Sejanus' secretaries ; he will write privately to Sejanus, and I see my finish. Well, in a way I shall be sorry to leave this place, though it is a tough job for a Roman to govern Jews when he has Greek secretariats to knife him in the back. The Jews I rather like, though I'm about the only Roman who does so. Stupid and brutal, yes ; but so are we sometimes, and with them one puts it down to that queer religion of theirs. Look at that poor fellow they insisted on crucifying last year. Not quite sane, perhaps, but perfectly harmless, and with a curious sort of dignity of his own which made rather an impression on me. However, the priests would have his blood, and as it was a matter of religion I couldn't find an excuse for interfering with them.

Anyhow, this religion does give them tenacity, and their brains are better than ours. I shouldn't wonder if they governed us some day. Personally, I wish we could let them have their country to themselves, but we can't do that now, with Parthia on one side and Egypt on the other. Meantime, those fellows in Rome want the end but won't have the means. I could govern the Jews well enough, and keep them satisfied too, with Tu regere imperio populos, Roman, memento, but what I get from Antioch'is always Vin'tu curtis Judaeis crppedere ?

"The Jews know that, and think they can behave to me as Vitellius hints that I behave to them. It is when their high priests and would-be tetrarchs get in with those Greek secretaries that we always have trouble. Of course, I might do nothing and report to Antioch, but after all there are 20,000 Roman civilians in Syria, with wives and children, and we remember here, if they have forgotten it at Rome, that 80,000 Romans were massacred in Asia Minor not so very long ago. However, let's get to business. This is my programme. Have it proclaimed at once in the town that public meetings in the forum outside the praetorium are prohibited, and will be dispersed by force. If there are none, well and good ; it will show that things aren't as bad as I think. If only small knots assemble, take no notice. If there is a big mob, take out your whole cohort, archers and slingers included, and disperse them so that they shan't assemble again. Give them no time to get dangerous. It is better to kill a few score Jews now than to have to kill thousands of them next year, though not every Roman would think so. Of course, you will be in command yourself ; this is no business for cen- turions. Is that clear, or do you want written orders ? "

" Quite clear, sir, thank you."

Quintus saluted and went out.

The dream faded away, and then resumed itself as dreams do. The scene was the same, and the man on the couch was the same. This time his companion was a pale slight Greek, evidently of the writer class, with a small table before him on which were writing materials and a number of documents.

" Well, Charicles," said the man on the couch, " have all the reports come ? "

" Yes, your honour. The casualties in the forum were 379 killed. Number of wounded unknown. The city is quiet. It is reported that there are differences between the city factions, each of them blaming the other. Several requests have come from city leaders asking for interviews to thank your honour for restoring order. On the other hand, a deputation of the sicarii has left for Antioch, doubtless to make complaints there. The Parthian agents have left the city. The Parthian cavalry have disappeared from the Euphrates, and frontier trade has been resumed."

" Ah ! not bad results for the price. Well, now for my despatch. What has Greek ingenuity to suggest about it ? "

The Greek smiled. "Since your honour asks for my humble opinion, it is that it is judicious not to present at once too many facts to one's adversaries, for admitted facts are always liable to be made the subject of misrepresentation by unprincipled persons skilled in the use of adjectives.. A well advised litigant by no means discloses his whole case in the first instance ; on the contrary, he conceals, so far as the law permits him, what may be subject to attack, and reserves what may be useful in reply. In affairs of state, moreover, the tactics of the great Fabius are those from which a wise man does not lightly depart. On these principles the course which I would respectfully suggest is to request the appointment of a commission from Rome, in order that full inquiry may be held into the ramifications of the conspiracy from which the recent disorders originated. Such a commission would no doubt be agreeable to His Excellency Sejanus and to the senate ; it would put the Jews in the position of accused instead of accusers, and it could be made to last over at least a year. By that time who knows what may have hap- pened at Antioch, Rome, Capreac, or on the Euphrates ? Mean- time, it is unnecessary to give figures of casualties, since the total is not precisely ascertained. It may be stated that inquiries are proceeding, and that the results will be reported when they are completed. It would also do much to disarm any possible attack on the score of casualties if the action of the military tribune were condemned and disavowed. This can be done without fear of contradiction, since he had no written instruc- tions. Some such course as this, in my humble judgment, offers to your honour a prospect of security as complete as in human affairs we can look for."

" Thank you, Charicles. Very sound advice ; and were I a Greek I should probably take it. Being a Roman, I shall not. Draft at once, stating plainly the action taken by the military tribune. Say that it was taken under my express instructions, and that I take full responsibility for it. Give the casualties as we have them, and say that if there are found to have been more, a further report will be made. Add that I anticipate no further trouble here, but that if there is any the measures already taken will be repeated."

The dream faded, and the Secretary of State woke up. He glanced at the book lying open on his knee, and murmured : " Interesting to compare our methods of governing dependencies with those of the Romans. I forget what happened to that governor. A good man in his way, but lacking in finesse."

Ho turned over the page, and read : " So Vitellius sent Marcellus, a friend of his, to take care of the affairs of Judea, and ordered Pilate to go to Rome to answer before the emperor to the accusation of the Jews."

" Yes, I thought so," said the Secretary of State. " I expect their senate worked much as our House of Commons does. I rather wonder whether Jerusalem would have seen less of Vespasian and Titus if it had seen more of Pilate." And as he passed his table to replace the book on the shelf, his eye fell on a passage in the proof which lay there, beginning, " That Brigadier- General Dyer displayed honesty of purpose and unflinching adherence to his conception of his duty cannot for a moment be questioned. But—."