The Gladiators: A Tale of Rome and Judea (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Gladiators: A Tale of Rome and Judea Again the dream changes. Frenzied priest and Druidical stone have vanished like the mist that encircled them. It is a beautiful balmy night in June. The woods are black and silver in the moonlight. Not a breath of air stirs the topmost twigs oi the lofiy elm cut clear and distinct against the sky. Not a ripple blurs the surface of the lake, spread out and gleaming like a set of polished steel. The bittern calls at intervals from the adjacent marsh, and the nightingale carols in the c0pm. All is peaceful and beautiful, and suggestive of enjoyment or repose. Yet here, lying close amongst the foxglove and the fern, long lines of white robed warriors are waiting but the Signal for assault. And yonder, where the earth-work rises dark and level against the sky, paces to and fro a high-crested sentinel, watching over the safety of the Eagles, with the calm and ceaseless vigilance of that discipline which has made the lcgionaries masters of the world. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.