Читать книгу No. XIII; or, The Story of the Lost Vestal онлайн

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Awe-struck, the girl obeyed, and there, in the outer cave, a little congregation was gathered round Amphibalus, who was kneeling at a rude table formed by a fragment of rock which blocked up the entrance to the cavern.

At a sign from Agatha, Anna knelt with the rest, and then Amphibalus rising, turned to the people, and bade them draw near and receive the sign of the love of the Crucified One, the bread and the wine which He had commanded. In a few short words, he rehearsed the story of the Cross to those poor trembling converts who at any moment might be discovered and dragged off to a cruel death. He told of the life which now is, and that hope of the life to come, as the blessed experience of the Christian, and his anchor. For life here without Him is darkness, and life there without Him is a dread void. What did stripes and persecution weigh in the balance, when the future exceeding glory and joy were on the other side! Then he went on to speak of Alban, and the soldier who died with him, rather than live without him, and to bid all those present to encourage each other in steadfastness and courage.