The Mark of the Beast

met his sight as he entered it by the Jaffa gate. For interest, picturesqueness,

the proverbial "last straw" and led by foul-smelling, unkempt Bedouins were there, as usual, in spite of the fact that railways now ran in every direction. Eastern women, robed in t

e crowded. The aroma of strong black coffee was often fortunately,

Water-carriers moved about with their monotonous cry of "moyeh,"

garden," was piled everywhere about at the sides of the streets. Cauliflowers thirty-six inches around, with every other vegetable equally fine, melons, lemons, o

urists were abroad, their gleaming white drill attire and tobies

possession of the city, that there was scarce a Moslem of any kind to be seen, and that most of the tumble-down, smaller houses, of a few years back, had been pulled down, and that the streets in consequence had

that crowned Mount Moriah. He had not, of course, seen that wonderful painting on Vellum which Rabbi Cohen had shown Ralph Bastin. It is

ticle," he passed through the cosmopolitan crowd always making his way up

plete. Not a pole or plank of scaffolding was left standing, no litter or rubbish heaps were to be seen; every approach, every yar

his way down the wide, steep decline-the whole of this wide road was composed of marble blocks, reminding him of the Roman Appian way-his mind was in a whirl, his head ached with the glare of the sun on the gold, and with th

bited as a town without walls." The environs, and the suburbs had spread in every direction. For the first time in the history of the world, the hills, Gare

Temple, and which, in its way, was almost as gorgeous a building,

ing one uniform, save that the "facings" were different to den

wling their chief ware-"Programs for the Temple, t

g. It was most sumptuously got up, printed in a style unknown to

ss of the appearance of the program, his attention was arrested by a bold, curious hieroglyph

on: Mark of

a memory returned to him. One night when Ralph Bastin h

of MAN; and his number is 666." Now this number, in the Greek, is made up of two characters which stand for the name of Christ, with a third charac

gether, there came that scare of fire in the stereo room, and we both rushed away. But now I know that this

reath sharply,

! He has begun t

s take in the conte

eroglyphic was

L THE

N, EM

elect

A

ollowing event

e Dedic

the Temple

h Sept., year

o minor al

of the High

e Emp

y The Hig

of the 7 ye

brew Nation an

ignatures and

the Sa

ted and donned

od of the Temple for the free distribution of the sacramental signs, with directions

d Bullen to himself, "w

nued his

ion of Kings, headed by Apleon, Emperor of the World, will start fr

reet the procession on its

ung by 1,000, singers

f the High Priest with his glorious robes of office

nt to be read aloud

peror to be sung by the Pri

early hour, that there may be no undue ex

ered heads, as may seem fit to each person. This applies to Jews and Jewesses also, and, (N. B.) there will

VE THE E

llen. He did not finish his sentence, he would have been pu

grams can be procured

ment, and he bought a second p

d be sent in code, and to an address, and under a name that should not be recognized as having any connection

at time, had to contend with, the ignorance of how far invisi

always some of the elite of the earth. To George Bullen, with the journalist

rable. At four o'clock, Bullen was close by the chief gate of the Temple. He woul

wide marble upward road, King after King rode, all on white hors

a. At the gate, close to where George Bullen was sta

orge caught the rein of the horse, and with a soothing word and touch, led the b

e's leader, the King flung a word of thanks to George,

r Apleon. A moment or two only, then amid a thunder of acclaim of "Long live the World's Emperor!"

feet than six. His form as erect as a Venetian mast. His costume w

his shoulders, clasped at the neck with a large gold-and-precious-stone buckle of the same mysterious form as the hieroglyphic crest at the head of the Programs, he wore a wonderful burnouse of white and gold fleece, the gold predominating over the white, and flashing fiercely, gorgeously in the sun. His leonine head was surmounted with a dazzling covering that was neither a c

paused only to return the salutes of the ten kings, then flung himself from the saddle, and waited a moment until

e houses and palaces and public buildings were packed. Every window that faced the mount was crowded. Flags flew everywhere within the city, and beyond the walls,

hung at the head of the flag-staff on the roof of his palace, suddenly broke, and there swept out upon the light breeze, an enormous white silk flag, the ce

l as Hell itself, curled his lips. It seemed almost as though it was to see that damnable challenge flung forth to the wi

ple. The ten kings, Babylonian merchan

tly behind the King of Syria