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150 Nazarene he could; and partly by curiosity to see this woman so many talked of, and to hear her version of the circumstances of her Son's birth. These times were too uncommon, too unsettled, by the teachings of the lowly carpenter, for even Caiaphas to be able to close his eyes to the fact that the Nazarene was no ordinary man. To justify himself, nay, more, to enjoy the full flavour of his vengeance, he must know all concerning Him that he could glean from those who had conversed with Him. From the first he had feigned ignorance of the preachings in the Temple, the assemblies by the seashore, the miracles, the strange doings and sayings of this young madman, as he had named the Christ; but the day had come when, if Caiaphas had made up his mind to crucify the Man, he must know enough to give good reasons for His condemnation to Herod and to Pontius Pilate; even to Cæsar, should he demand it; nay, more, he must have an excuse to give himself.

Two rulers of the Synagogue, Nicodemus and Lazarus, had gone over to this Man. Lazarus, indeed, was now dead, but Pontius Pilate himself, urged on by his wife, this Claudia Procula whom Caiaphas hated, was beginning to speak in tones of no disfavour, even of admiration, of the Nazarene. Surely, therefore, it was time to tremble and to act. But he was not prepared for the presence of the Magdalene. Her beauty troubled him, for he was as licentious as he was hypocritical; nay, more, he owed her a grudge, in that she, a sinner, had repulsed his advances when, disguised as a peasant, he had mingled more than once in the crowd that