They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, From henceforth and for evermore.-Ps. cxxv. When they had proceeded about two sabbath-days' journeys, or a little more, from Bethlehem, they approached the grave of Rachel.* At another time this place of the rest of Jacob's beloved wife, the hardly-earned recompense of his labors, might have produced some melancholy emotions, but now such thoughts were banished by the universal joy. Helon remarked to Elisama, that this was not the time of which their prophet had spoken: “In Rama was heard a voice, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children." "May it be always so with the children of Israel," replied Elisama. The eager haste of the multitudes now increased with every step, and their impatience for the first sight of Jerusalem was expressed in the following psalm: Great is the Lord; and greatly to be praised The mountain of his holiness in the city of our God. Is mount Zion, on the north of the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge, We think of thy loving-kindness, O God, In the midst of thy temple. As thy name, so thy praise reacheth to the ends of the earth. Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let the hill of Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad Because of thy judgments! Walk about Zion, go around about her! Tell her Towers! Mark well her bulwarks! Consider her palaces ! That ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God, for ever and ever. He will be our guide, as in our youth.-Ps. xlviii. All Expectation had reached the highest pitch. The last strophes were not completely sung; many were already silent, eagerly watching for the first sight of Jerusalem. eyes were turned towards the north; a faint murmur spread from rank to rank among the people, only those who had been at the festival before continued the psalm, and these solitary scattered voices formed a solemn contrast with the silence of the rest of the multitude. Helon's heart was in his eye, and he could scarcely draw his breath. When the psalm was concluded, the instruments prolonged the sound for a moment, and then all that mighty multitude, so lately jubilant, was still as death. All at once the foremost ranks exclaimed, Jerusalem, Jerusalem! and Jerusalem, Jerusalem! resounded through the valley of Rephaim. “Jerusalem, thou city built on high, we wish thee peace!" The children hurried their parents forward with them, and all hands were lifted up to bless. The high white walls of the Holy City cast a gleam along the valley : Zion arose with its palaces, and from Moriah the smoke of the offering was ascending to heaven. It was the hour of the evening sacrifice. Scarcely had the multitude recovered a little, when they began to greet the temple and the priests: Bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord. And bless the Lord. So will Jehovah bless thee out of Zion; He who made heaven and earth.-Ps. cxxxiv. They had now reached the termination of their march. The day of preparation was beginning; the following evening was the Passover. From the gates of Jerusalem came forth, in every direction, the pilgrims who had already arrived and the inhabitants of the city, to welcome the new comers from Hebron and from Libnah. The venerable pair, Mardochai of Ziph and his wife, who were still borne in front, received the blessings of all who met them, Close by the gate, some one from behind laid hold of Elisama; "Art thou Elisama of Alexandria ?" Elisama turned round and recognised Iddo, an old and faithful friend of his family. The old men met with inexpressible delight, and Elisama presented Helon to Iddo. The pilgrims had now reached the city, and were dispersing in different directions to their respective quarters. Iddo conducted the strangers through the Water-gate to his house on the open place. THE DAY OF CHAPTER X. PREPARATION FOR THE PASSOVER. THEIR reception in the house of Iddo surpassed all Helon's expectations. At the seasons of the festivals, no inhabitant of Jerusalem considered his house as his own. Their city was the city of the whole people, not of the inhabitants alone; and when Israel came up to appear before Jehovah, every citizen regarded his dwelling as belonging to his brethren as much as to himself. Jerusalem lies on the confines of Judah and Benjamin. Its names, the Holy City, the City of the Congregation of Israel, the Gate of the People, point out its destination. No other city was ever in the same sense the capital and centre of a country. "You are at home," said their host, as he led them into his house; and at this time, I am not more so than you. The citizen of Jerusalem considers himself equally with his brethren, as a pilgrim at the festival." In fact the whole house was filled with strangers. Elisama found among them many old acquaintances — but great was his joy when he discovered, in the number, Selumiel of Jeri cho, the brother of Iddo. His emotion overpowered his utterance, and he could only press him silently, and with tears in his eyes, to his breast. Selumiel had been the dearest friend of his youth; he had lived long in Alexandria, and they had spent the earliest days of manhood there together; they had imparted each to the other all their youthful plans. At a later period they had been separated, and had not met for more than thirty years; but their hearts had remained united, and their joy at meeting was mutual. Elisama seemed to be changed by the sight of him, as if youth itself had returned with the friend of his youth. While the feet of the guests were washing, which is the first duty of hospitality in the East, and indeed properly their welcome, Elisama and Selùmiel were engaged in uninterrupted discourse, as if they had been sitting alone in the court, and rapidly ran over earlier and later times, Alexandria and Jericho. In the mean time Iddo and some of the guests had joined Helon, and were congratulating him upon his first pilgrimage. Selumiel and Iddo had in common a hearty and straight forward character, by which they might have been known as brothers. But, besides that they were attached to different parties in religion, Iddo had more liveliness and cheerfulness. "My son out of Egypt," he addressed Helon, "tomorrow at this time, when the Passover begins, thou wilt see what thou hast never seen before. Already, on the tenth of the month, I chose a lamb without blemish for the occasion. Before sunset this evening, I fetched the water into the house, with which the unleavened bread is to be made. If you please you shall go with me after supper and seek the leaven in the house. A young Israelite, who has come for the first time to the Passover, should leave nothing unseen, but learn all the practices of Israel in the most complete manner possible. But I forgot, you are come from Hebron today, and must be weary." Helon seemed almost offended to be suspected of weariness, after a march made under such circumstances. With glowing cheeks he repelled the imputation, and begged that Iddo would not spare him. "Just like his father," exclaimed his host, "jealous of nothing so much as of being thought a genuine Aramæan Jew. Tomorrow, I will conduct thee to his grave in the valley of Jehoshaphat. In truth he was a noble-minded man, an Israelite without guile. He died in this house, and it was of thee, Helon, that he spoke to me in his last moments." He then related the circumstances of his death, and many anecdotes of his intercourse with him. Their connexion had been much the same as that of Selumiel with Elisama. Helon listened to him, as if his father's spirit spoke from his lips, so intimate had been their friendship, so similar their characters. In such discourse the time passed rapidly, and a servant came to call the guests from the cooling fountain of the inner court to the roof, where they were to sup. Here Iddo was accustomed to entertain his guests at the festival, when there was any one among them, on whom the spectacle, beheld for the first time, was likely to make an indelible impression. It was a fine, clear, cloudless night. The moon shone sweetly upon Jerusalem and changed the night to a softer and cooler day than that which had been twelve hours before. A breeze from the Mount of Olives cooled the heated air. bors had in like manner brought their guests to roofs of their houses, and as far as the eye could reach on every side, feasting and illumination were seen. A busy hum ascended from the streets beneath, and the white tents glistened in the valley of Kedron. The neigh sup on the What a scene! The whole environs of Jerusalem were turned into an encampment; all the hills and valleys, all the streets and open places were covered with tents. It was impossible that the houses should contain all the strangers, notwithstanding the unbounded hospitality which was practised on these occasions, and hence it was necessary that a large proportion of them should remain in tents during the festival. In the pleasant season of the year, at which the Passover was held, this had nothing inconvenient or disagreeable in it; it |