publicly flattered Margareta by asking her for a token under favour of which he hoped to win a good place in the lists. As he reined up his steed suddenly before her, and sat silently in the saddle, according to the old-fashioned manner, waiting for her to place something on the point of his lance, she thought this was the finest figure in the tilting yard. Of course Bertrand was clad in armour, and his helmet was closed, but Margareta was not in the least doubt as to who it was.

"What shall I give him?" she asked hurriedly, somewhat embarrassed by the sudden appearance of the knight, for she knew nothing of his intention to try his luck in the tournament.

"A favour, a favour!" cried the bystanders, with that ready instinct of giving advice which makes a crowd yell fiercely to a jockey to ride on in a race, as if he did not already exert himself to the utmost to do that very thing.

"Give him thy neck band," suggested dame Colberg with a genial smile. She suspected shrewdly enough who the armed knight was likely to be, and did not feel averse to having her daughter distinguished by good tilting. For in some inscrutable manner the skill of a knight successful in the lists reflected honour upon the lady whose favour he bore.

Margareta, with her face lit up by one of her rare blushes, accordingly unfastened from her throat the narrow blue ribbon that adorned it, and with fingers trembling with excitement she tied the feeble silken streamer around the lance presented to her. Naturally enough after that, the tilting-yard contained for Margareta but one

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rider, around whom the rest continually revolved and were interesting only as far as they were concerned with the knight whom she had decorated. It must be admitted that he did honour to her ribbon and bore it gallantly throughout the day, and although not the victor of the tournay, Margareta's champion was among the three who were declared "worthy," and they passed out together to enjoy the acclamations of the delighted spectators. The young girl's heart swelled with pride, as she heard "The Blue Ribbon! the Blue Ribbon!" shouted again and again by those who admired the splendid horsemanship of him who bore that device.

Since this is the history of the Blue Ribbon it is small wonder if Margareta should look for its bearer with secret eagerness when viewing the Stadtholder's procession. Yet when the scrap of fluttering silk passed beneath her window she turned her eyes away from it after the first glance. For beneath the tiny banner her eyes had met a well-known face turned upwards towards her and two deep blue eyes looking straight into her own. She had turned her face away. Unkind Margareta! But the knight did not look much chagrined, he even smiled as if he suspected that she would look at him all the more when he had passed. And this is precisely what she did. Margareta watched that figure alone until the cortége of nobles, passing round a corner and turning down the Rue de Roi, was hidden from her sight. Then she gave a slight sigh, and as far as she was concerned the procession was over, although splendid cavaliers were still riding past the window.

THE

1

HE prominence assigned in the first three Gospels to the Apostle John is shared by his brother James, and by Simon Peter; in one case by Andrew also. "Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Jesus privately," as though belonging to the inner circle of His fellowship perhaps as the four original disciples, perhaps from some high qualities marking them out from the rest. The three, again, without Andrew, are the privileged spectators of the miracle wrought on the child of Jairus, and afterwards of the Transfiguration on Hermon,2 and of the Agony in Gethsemane. That John himself describes none of these memorable scenes is only another illustration, and perhaps the most

Mark xiii. 3; Luke has "some"; Matthew, "His disciples." Mark gives St. Peter's own report of the conversation, and is naturally more precise.

It may be taken as sufficiently established that Mount Hermon, and not the traditional Tabor, was the scene of the Transfiguration.

striking one, of the fact that his Gospel, written with the others before him, was intended in great part to supply their omissions. One reference however he seems to make to the Transfiguration. "We beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father."1 So had St. Peter written of the same hour of supreme revelation, "We were eye witnesses of His majesty." "

We shall inadequately understand that scene upon Mount Hermon if we regard it as simply a manifestation of the Saviour's divine greatness, symbolised by His robes of light and by the homage of celestial messengers. It was that, undoubtedly; but it was something more. Our Lord had gone up into "the mountain," one short week from that memorable interview with His disciples at its foot in Cæsarea Philippi, when He had first spoken fully to them of His

1 John i. 14. Revised Version. See also margin.
2 2 Peter i. 16-18.

approaching sufferings and death. The three evangelists who record the Transfiguration connect it by express notes of time with His deepest lessons on taking up the Cross, and on self-sacrifice as a condition of attaining the life eternal. And "after these sayings," as though to throw light upon their mystery, as well as to impress their memory for ever on His disciples' hearts, He led them into the solitude of the mountain height, and called into His presence the saints of olden time, that they might speak to Him and to His future witnesses to mankind of "His decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." 2 Moses and Elijah-or rather

let us say the Law and the Prophets thus impersonated-appear to give their final testimony to those who are to be their successors in announcing God's truth amongst men; from the solemn past there comes a voice to the living present, declaring the mystery of God about to be fulfilled. God Himself proclaims that the ancient covenant was superseded: "This is My beloved Son: hear ye HIM." "And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone:" the tables of the Law and the harp of Prophecy are at His feet, not indeed to be disregarded and cast away; but that the one may utter its holiest sanctions, and the other breathe its sweetest music, in connection with "the decease to be accomplished at Jerusalem."

The Transfiguration, then, was Christ's great symbolic, outward designation for the Cross. The three who beheld that sight represent the ministry in every age, whose theme should be Christ crucified. In their persons we seem to see the whole "goodly fellowship of prophets, the glorious company of the apostles, the white-robed army of martyrs":

Here, where the Apostle's heart of rock
Is nerved to bear temptation's shock;
Here, where the Son of thunder learns

The thought that breathes, the word that burns;
Here, where on eagle wings we move
With him whose last best word is Love."

Nor only so. Was there not some special preparation in the case of the several disciples who entered that cloud with their Redeemer?

To PETER, appointed to bear the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, the first preacher to Jews and Gentiles of a completed Gospel: to JAMES, destined to become the earliest martyr of the apostolic band: and to JOHN, who was to be the latest survivor of that goodly company, was this special revelation given. Thus would it be a presage at once of that mighty ministry in which the Cross should be the central theme, and of that last agony in which the Cross held before the closing eyes should take away the sting of death; and of that harder conflict of protracted life, with its temptations to be overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and its sorrows to be soothed by the voice of the Beloved Son. Heaven thus prepared the disciples for work, for testimony, for any fate that life or death might bring; and Matthew and Mark, "After six days"; Luke, "About eight days." 2 Luke ix. 31. 3 Dean Stanley.

when the same disciples not long afterwards beheld the sorrow of Gethsemane, the lesson was but confirmed.

more sure.

2

May we not note, again, some characteristic distinction between the recorded impression of the scene, as given by the two apostles? To Peter, the practical, the vision brought comfirmatory evidence, attesting the claims of the Messiah, and making "the word of prophecy "He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory: This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; and this voice we ourselves heard come out of heaven when we were with Him in the holy mount." But John, with quickened insight, pierces at once to the very heart of the revelation. "We beheld His glory: glory as of an only begotten from a Father." That glory at once revealed its source. No need of processes of reason to bring confirmation! The beloved disciple beholds the Light, and whence it flows. From that time the inner glory of Christ's work becomes more and more revealed to His disciple. It is true that, as we have seen, fresh from the wonders of Hermon and the vision of the great Elijah, he was disposed for a moment to take Elijah's part against the Samaritan despisers of the Lord; but the better mind prevails, and the apostle henceforth dwells upon the revelation of the heart of Christ, amid all the external scenes of His last great days on earth. The Entry into Jerusalem, described by the other evangelists with such wealth of detail, is briefly dismissed by him, while the profound words occasioned by the desire of "the Greeks" to see Jesus are recorded by him alone. The saying must have seemed, even to the dim apprehension of the halfinstructed disciple, like an echo from Hermon: "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men towards Myself." As St. John records the words, he bethinks himself of the vision which Isaiah beheld: "The Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and His train filled the temple, and above Him stood the Seraphim.” Isaiah " saw His glory, and he spake of Him.”

Unconscious, in some measure, may have been the attraction which seemed to draw this apostle closer and closer to the Saviour's side. For he had not as yet fully grasped the truth, and was but a questioner like the rest. Yet a nearest place to his Lord was henceforth his, as if by the right of a deeper comprehension, and a holier love. John himself declares this with a frank ingenuousness; for it cannot have escaped the notice of any student of the Gospels that it is to him alone that we owe the announcement of his high distinction, as the "disciple whom Jesus loved.' Of this special affection the other 1 2 Peter i. 19. See Revised Version.

13

2 John i. 14. Revised Version, margin.

3 This description occurs five times; once in the account of the Supper (ch. xiii. 23); once in that of the Crucifixion, when the mother of Jesus is entrusted to his care (xix. 26); once in the narrative of the Resurrection morning (xx. 2), (where. as will be noted below, the word is slightly different); and twice in the account of the significant interview by the Sea of Galilee (xxi. 7, 20). In all these cases, there was some special reason, quite apart from the self-consciousness of the narrator, for noting the affection of the Lord for His disciple.

evangelists give no hint. But to John himself it was the one fact which had shed its illumination over all his lengthened life; and he could not but preserve the exquisite remembrance.

When we read, however, of John's "leaning on Jesus' bosom," we must rid ourselves of the idea of sentimental languor, which some minds associate with the phrase, and which has found such abundant expression on the canvas of Italian art. The meaning simply is, that after the Eastern fashion of reclining at table, the place of John was next to Jesus. Every guest was "in the bosom" of his neighbour. Two words, which place the whole scene before us, are used in the narrative of the Supper. John "was at the table reclining in Jesus' bosom: " Peter beckoned to him, and asked him to ascertain from Jesus which was the betrayer. On this, John "leaning back, as he was, on Jesus' breast, saith unto Him, Lord, who is it?" This "leaning back" was to whisper, or to ask the question in a low tone, and our ordinary version, "lying on Jesus' breast,' suggests a mistaken idea.

From this time we see and hear no more of the beloved disciple as distinct from the rest who listened with him to those divine discourses which no other evangelist records. These words were addressed to all; all overheard the great high-priestly prayer. Then with his brother James and his comrade Peter, John went forth to Gethsemane and beheld the Agony, of which again he says nothing, as having been adequately described by the other evangelists. But only he notes the divine majesty which prostrated the soldier-band, before Jesus surrendered Himself to their power. Then, as Matthew and Mark expressly state, "the disciples all forsook Him and fled." Was John then a fugitive with the rest? If so, he quickly recovered himself, with Peter his friend. 66 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple." Archbishop Whately endeavoured ingeniously to prove that this disciple was Judas; but his arguments have not carried conviction. The general opinion, identifying the disciple with John, appears to rest on solid grounds: he was "known to the high priest"; he went "and brought in Peter"; the particularity of the account suggesting an eye-witness-a horrified, almost heart-broken, yet silent witness-of Peter's threefold denial! "Peter went out and wept bitterly;" but his companion, intent upon every step and word of Jesus, does not note those tears. With vivid, more than dramatic minuteness, St. John details the trial before Pilate; mentioning, like Mark and Luke, the purple robe and the crown of thorns, but adding to their accounts the wonderful colloquy on the Kingship of Jesus, and the pathetic Ecce Homo. Still, our only glimpse of John's personality is when our Lord was actually on the Cross. The disciple was standing in the little group of which his own mother and the mother of Jesus formed a part. In that supreme hour, when the dying Sufferer

' Professor Westcott observes that John, "reclining on Jesus' bosom," held the second place of honour at the side of the Lord of the feast. Peter, on the other side of Jesus, held the first.

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said to Mary, Woman, behold Thy Son, and to John, Behold thy mother, He recognised the tie of blood as well as of affection, and hallowed for ever the home of the beloved disciple by the sacred trust. As to the new sonship thus indicated, we may be sure that it, did not supersede the old, and that, under the roof of John, Salome and Mary1 were reunited, as in the old days of their sisterly companionship at Nazareth. Where the home was, at Bethsaida or Jerusalem, we cannot tell; the latter is suggested by the phrase, "from that hour that disciple took her," but this cannot be pressed as a certainty. That John was in circumstances to enable him to undertake such a care, we have already seen. One difficulty sometimes raised in regard to the incident, bears upon the question of the "Lord's brethren." It is argued that had these been really sons of Joseph and Mary the mother would have been committed to their care rather than to that of a nephew. The argument has undoubtedly some weight; but it may be observed on the other side that the brethren of Jesus did not believe in Him,2 and that the circumstances would warrant the withdrawal ever of a parent for a time from their unsympathising companionship. It is true that we read in the first chapter of the Acts of Christ's brethren with His mother in the company of believers. Regarding them as the same persons in both cases, may we not seek an explanation of the change in their belief in the statement of the Apostle Paul, that Jesus after His resurrection appeared to James?3 The James best known in the apostolic history was "the Lord's brother "4; and it is pleasant to think of him, and of his brothers also, as the first-fruits of Christ's resurrection. Their unbelief, which had resisted the influence of His life on earth, was broken down when He revealed Himself to them as risen from the dead; they enrolled themselves among His willing disciples; and James soon rose to a place of honour in His church. In this case, however, it may be asked, would not Mary have exchanged the home of John again for theirs?—a question which, as we do not know the facts of the case, it is impossible to answer. A late ecclesiastical tradition states that she remained with St. John in Jerusalem for eleven years, dying there in her fifty-ninth year; and from the sixth century the "Tomb of the Virgin" has been shown in the Holy City, beneath the Valley of Jehoshaphat."

The two occasions on which St. John appears after the resurrection of Jesus, are full of interest, not only from their connection with our Lord's crowning triumph, but from the distinct stages which they mark in the spiritual history of the disciple. Very graphic is his own narration of that visit to the tomb, when Mary of Magdala had brought first to Peter, and then to John, the

The Fourth Gospel does not mention either by name. No doubt Zebedee and Joseph were both dead. 2 See John vii. 30. Compare Acts i. 14. 3 1 Corinthians xv. 7.

It will be seen that we regard this James as distinct from James the Less, the son of Alphæus. The present is not the place to discuss the question, but the reasons for this conclusion seem to us irresistible.

5 "Land and the Book," p. 635.

two beloved disciples,' her breathless announcement of the empty sepulchre; followed by the eager race to Joseph's garden, in which the younger feet of the son of Zebedee outran the tardier steps of his elder companion, who however went straight into the tomb, whereas John, with a deeper awe, was gazing and pondering.

Reason and Faith at once set out

To search the Saviour's tomb;
Faith faster runs, but waits without,
As fearing to presume,

Till Reason enter in, and trace

Christ's relics round the holy place

"Here lay His limbs, and here His sacred head, And who was by, to make His new-forsaken bed?" 2

"Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre; and he saw AND BELIEVED." In these words surely we have the dawning in the disciple's mind of a true and noble faith in the risen Lord. He "believed" not what Mary Magdalene had said, “They have taken away my Lord"; but that He lived. He believed, it is added, on such evidence as he had, apart from the testimony of Scripture, which ought, nevertheless, to have convinced him. "So far from the belief of the disciples being based on a previous interpretation of Scripture, the fact itself first illuminated the sense of Scripture."

"3

John and Peter had not seen the angels: "they went away unto their own home: and to the patient loving watch of the Magdalene the first vision was vouchsafed of the risen Christ.

4

To the narrative of our Lord's subsequent manifestations to the twelve, is added, in a kind of Appendix to the Gospel, the touching and beautiful account of His appearing to the seven disciples on the Lake of Tiberias, when the apostleship of Peter, who had thrice denied Him, was by a threefold charge explicitly and formally

restored. This disciple naturally held the fore most place in the scene: but the incidental part taken in it by St. John was full of expressiveness. At the close of the interview, and after the prephecy of Peter's martyrdom, our Lord, in some symbolic adaptation of His action to the lesson He wished to convey, calls upon the disciple to follow Him. Probably He walked some pace along the shore, summoning Peter to tread in His steps. John with a natural eagerness follows the example; and Peter asks whether the symbolis.. has a meaning for him also. Jesus replies in the enigmatic words: "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow that Me."

Significant as was the rebuke to Peter, it held a yet deeper meaning concerning the son of Zebedee. The other apostles misinterpreted the saying, in their poor literalistic way: but Joha saw deeper into the mystery, although he himself could not explain it all: he was content to wait its solution.

Even when the apostle was laid in the grave, there was a widespread belief among his former flock at Ephesus that he really lived, and that the turf above him was softly heaved by the breathing of the buried saint. Professed evewitnesses of the wonder were not lacking; and it is easy to conceive how their imagination may have deluded them into the conviction of the reality of the phenomenon. We need not stay t show how alien all this was from the Lord's meaning. And yet it would appear that there was to be a tarrying on the part of the disciple until He came, at least, in that great event which was to be the " consummation of the age;" the fall of Jerusalem and the passing away of the Jewish state. Henceforth the life of the Apostle would be a looking onward and reaching forward to the accomplishment of that mystery of God.

IN

Man climbs the marvellous mountain, with its deep,
Rich foliaged gorges, and its ever steep
And steeper rising precipices dread,
Until o'erhead,

In still, ethereal solitude, appears

Its granite peak, which awfully uprears

N the Zoroastrian Genesis we are told how man departed from Paradise to dwell in the first place created by Ormazd for the Aryan race, and how that place was the town in the Zarafshan valley. The town still exists, and will

1 John xx. 2: "To the other disciple, whom Jesus loved." Professor Westcott remarks that the form of expression here employed "leads to the conclusion that both disciples alike are described as objects of the same feeling." In the other passages where John describes himself as the beloved disciple, the verb is different, yάña, diligebat; here it is épíλei, amabat, denoting warm personal affection.

Its inaccessible form, as bearing meet
Kindred to stars that proudly still retreat.

The stars look down on the vain mountain's love,

And man, o'er mount and stars, soars up to God

above.

doubtless one day have its railway station, for the valley of the Zarafshan is that of the river. which flows by Samarkand where the great Timur lies buried, and the Russian flag now

Trench: Miracles, p. 471. Possibly this symbolic act and the lesson it conveyed was in St. Peter's mind when he wrote (1 Eph. ii. 21): "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow His steps." 2 Westcott here notes that the description of St. John here given is not that of his "reclining by Jesus at the feast, but of his "leaning back" to convey Peter's question; showing the close connection between the two apostles.

This belief is discussed by Augustine (in his Homilies on St. John, 124) This father seems to think the story worthy of some credit.