now old enough to be called a "Son of the Law," and verses
from the Bible folded in little boxes, had been tied upon his arm and
his forehead by the village Rabbi, as a sign that He was old enough to
think for Himself and go to the religious Feasts at Jerusalem.

When they reached the great public roads they found other companies of
pilgrims going up to the Holy City, and by their banners they knew the
tribe and city from which they came. There was music, also, of timbrel
and pipe and drum as the songs of Zion were sung along the way, or at
evening when they camped in the fields.

When they had climbed the steep Jericho road and the Mount of Olives, a
glorious sight opened before them. There lay the City of David shining
in the sun, its thick walls set with towers; its marble palaces, and
castles, and gardens, and, most wonderful of all, the Temple with its
hundreds of white marble pillars, its beautiful porches and arches,
and, rising within its richly-paved courts, the Holy Place with the sun
like fire upon its roof of gold. The people shouted and sang a song of
joy. Perhaps they sang that song of David beginning:

"I was glad when they said unto me
'Let us go into the house of the Lord,'
Our feet shall stand within thy gates,
O Jerusalem!"

Like thousands of others they pitched their tents outside of the walls,
perhaps on the slopes of Olivet, and after eating the Passover supper
together went daily into the Temple. To the Boy of Nazareth this must
have been the one charmed spot in all Jerusalem. Other boys loved to
watch the strange people from far countries, and wander among the
bazars, but Jesus stayed in the Temple. He saw the white-robed
priests, the altars, and the sacrifices; He saw the great curtains of
purple and gold that hid the Holy place, and He heard the Temple choirs
answer each other in song; He also saw the old Rabbis who taught and
answered questions daily in the outer courts, and stood long among the
listeners.

When the company from Nazareth began the Journey home, and had gone as
far as the plains of Jericho, Mary looked for her boy. She had not
been troubled about him, for she thought He was walking with the other
children, or with relatives, but when Joseph found that he was not with
them they went back over the long, steep road full of fear and anxiety.
They searched Jerusalem through, asking everybody they knew if they had
seen the Boy Jesus.

When they had been sear