While she mused thus, like a ray of light through the clouds, a sense of consolation, sweet as it was sudden, seemed to pierce the darkness of her bitter thoughts.  She knew not whence it came, nor what it might portend, yet it existed, and the source of it seemed near to her.  She scanned the faces of the crowd, finding pity in a few, curiosity in more, but in most gross admiration if they were men, or scorn of her misfortune and jealousy of her loveliness if they were women.  Not from among these did that consolation flow.  She looked up to the sky, half expecting to see there that angel of the Lord into whose keeping the bishop, Cyril, had delivered her.  But the skies were empty and brazen as the faces of the Roman crowd; not a cloud could be seen in them, much less an angel.

As her eyes sank earthwards their glance fell upon one of the windows of the marble house to her left.  If she remembered right some few minutes before the shutters of that window had been closed, now they were open, revealing two heavy curtains of blue embroidered silk.  Miriam thought this strange, and, without seeming to do so, kept her eyes fixed upon the curtains.  Presently, for her sight was good, she saw fingers between them—­long, dark-coloured fingers.  Then very slowly the curtains were parted, and in the opening thus made appeared a face, the face of an old woman, dark and noble looking and crowned with snow-white hair.  Even at that distance Miriam knew it in an instant.

Oh, Heaven! it was the face of Nehushta, Nehushta whom she thought dead, or at least for ever lost.  For a moment Miriam was paralysed, wondering whether this was not some vision born of the turmoil and excitement of that dreadful day.  Nay, surely it was no vision, surely it was Nehushta herself who looked at her with loving eyes, for see! she made the sign of the cross in the air before her, the symbol of Christian hope and greeting, then laid her finger upon her lips in token of secrecy and silence.  The curtain closed and she was gone, who not five seconds before had so mysteriously appeared.

Miriam’s knees gave way beneath her, and while the marshals shouted to the procession to set forward, she felt that she must sink to the ground.  Indeed, she would have fallen had not some woman in the crowd stepped forward and thrust a goblet of wine into her hands, saying: 

“Drink that, Pearl-Maiden, it will make your pale cheeks even prettier than they are.”

The words were coarse, but Miriam, looking at the woman, knew her for one of the Christian community with whom she had worshipped in the catacombs.  So she took the cup, fearing nothing, and drank it off.  Then new strength came to her, and she went forward with the others on that toilsome, endless march.

At length, however, it did end, an hour or so before sunset.  They had passed miles of streets; they had trodden the Sacred Way bordered by fanes innumerable and adorned with statues set on columns; and now marched up the steep slope that was crowned by the glorious temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.  As they began to climb it guards broke into their lines, and seizing the chain that hung about the neck of Simon, dragged him away.