Page:The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew and Thomas.djvu/184

 and both went to the tomb. Having opened the door, they began to take the graveclothes from the corpse, and said, "What good was it to thee, unhappy Drusiana? Couldst thou not have done, while alive, that for whose voluntary execution thou wouldst soon have had no more grief?"

71. Whilst they thus spoke and only the shirt remained, there appeared something wonderful, which people that do such things deserve to experience. A serpent appeared of a sudden, bit the steward, and killed him. And the serpent bit not the young man, but encircled his feet, spitting fearfully, and when he had sunk down, the beast sat on him.

72. On the following day John and Andronicus and the brethren, went at the break of day to the tomb in which Drusiana has been for three days, that we break the bread there. And when about to start, the keys were not to be found. And John said to Andronicus, "Rightly they are lost, for Drusiana is not in the tomb. Nevertheless, let us go, that thou appearest not careless, and the doors will open of themselves, since the Lord has given us already many other things."

73. When we came to the place, the doors opened at the master's behest, and at the tomb of Drusiana we saw a beautiful youth smiling. When John saw him, he exclaimed and said "Dost thou forestall us here also, noble one (beautiful one)? And why?" And he heard (his) voice saying to him, "For the sake of Drusiana,