Page:Lazarus, a tale of the world's great miracle.djvu/40

28 influential as himself! A leader of the people, surely that were better than to follow in such a crowd, seeking after—what?

For one instant, this horrible temptation seized him, or, rather, it was photographed on his brain, for there was no wavering in the man himself. He was like a man betwixt two flashes of lightning, each one of which lights up a different piece of scenery. They had walked quickly, they were almost alongside the Christ.

"Lazarus!" He knew not whether the name had been breathed to him or not, but he met the yearning look of infinite pity, infinite love. In that look he saw the great height attainable by the soul; and indistinctly he could discern the rungs of a ladder that went ever upwards to an altitude of infinite variety and limitless possibility. His soul, his will, his very being, grasped once for all Eternal Life, and he lost it never again.

And Jesus and the multitude passed on.

Two eyes in the crowd followed with sadness the figures of Lazarus and Rebekah; those of the Magdalene. There was no jealousy in that look; on the contrary, there was gentle resignation. It was part of the Crucifixion of Joy that she knew had been allotted as the expiation of her former sins. Oh. how vividly the past rushed back, paying her out, as is ever the case with sinners even in this world. She was reaping now, reaping bitterly, wearily, in the noonday sun, the fruits of her own sowing; but, as she had told the mother of Jesus, the very grief seemed to give birth to a new joy; the joy of suffering for her dear Lord's sake. As her eyes followed