ten have pined that she had
not a girl; and she has brightened much since the damsel came here,
three years ago.

"But the sun is sinking, and my basket is full. There will be
enough for the maids to go on with, in the morning, until we can
supply them with more."

John's basket was not full, but he was well content to stop and,
descending their ladders, the three returned to the house.

Simon of Gadez--for that was the name of his farm, and the little
fishing village close by, on the shore--was a prosperous and
well-to-do man. His land, like that of all around him, had come
down from father to son, through long generations; for the law by
which all mortgages were cleared off, every seven years, prevented
those who might be disposed to idleness and extravagance from
ruining themselves, and their children. Every man dwelt upon the
land which, as eldest son, he had inherited; while the younger
sons, taking their smaller share, would settle in the towns or
villages and become traders, or fishermen, according to their bent
and means.

There were poor in Palestine--for there will be poor, everywhere,
so long as human nature remains as it is; and some men are idle and
self indulgent, while others are industrious and thrifty--but,
taking it as a whole there were, thanks to the wise provisions of
their laws, no people on the face of the earth so generally
comfortable, and well to do. They grumbled, of course, over the
exactions of the tax collectors--exactions due, not to the
contribution which was paid by the province to imperial Rome, but
to the luxury and extravagance of their kings, and to the greed and
corruption of the officials. But in spite of this, the people of
rich and prosperous Galilee could have lived in contentment, and
happiness, had it not been for the factions in their midst.

On reaching the house, John found that his father had just returned
from Hippos, whither he had gone on business. He nodded when the
lad entered, with his basket.

"I have hired eight men in the market, today, to come out tomorrow
to aid in gathering in the figs," he said; "and your mother has
just sent down, to get some of the fishermen's maidens to come in
to help her. It is time that we had done with them, and we will
then set about the vintage. Let us reap while we can, there is no
saying what the morrow will bring forth.

"Wife, add something to the evening meal, for the Rabbi Solomon Ben
Manasseh will sup with us, and sl