Page:Hebrew tales; selected and translated from the writings of the ancient Hebrew sages (1917).djvu/84

 name is never mentioned without maledictions. Among many acts of his cruelty they relate the following:—"He caused guards to be placed at the principal roads of Emmaus, Lekitaja [Lukyeh], and Beth El. 'Now,' said he, 'if they escape from one place, they are sure to be caught in another.' As great numbers had concealed themselves in woods, caves, and inaccessible spots, he, in order to draw them from their hiding-places, ordered it to be proclaimed that the emperor's anger was appeased, and that whoever wished to avail himself of the royal clemency should appear before him, at a stated period, in the valley of Rimmon. Many, confiding in the royal assurance, came and presented themselves at the appointed time. The tyrant was at dinner, in his pavilion. Beholding the assembled multitude, he said to his lieutenant: 'Mind, I expect that before I finish this crust of bread, and the thigh of this fowl, not one of those wretches shall remain alive.' The lieutenant obeyed, the legions were ordered to fall upon the defenceless people, and they were massacred without remorse. Those that remained concealed escaped, indeed, immediate destruction, but they were reserved for still greater calamities. Hunger and want reduced them to such extremities, that they were obliged to feed on the putrid bodies of the slain. The Midrash relates, that two of those unfortunate