nd before he died he cried with a loud
voice, looking his heathen judge full in the face:

'Thou, like a fury, takest us out of this present life, but the King of
the world shall raise us up, who have died for His laws, unto life
everlasting!'

But when it came to the turn of the youngest son even the heathen judge
was anxious to spare him, and he promised the lad honour and great
riches if he would but turn from his faith.

But the youth stepped out before them all, his boyish face as brave as
a man's and his boyish voice as steady.

'Whom wait ye for?' he asked. 'I will obey the Commandments of the Law
that was given unto our fathers by Moses; but thou shalt not escape the
hands of God.

'We suffer for our sins, but our pain is short. See, I offer up my
body and life for the Laws of my fathers, beseeching God to be merciful
to my nation, and that thou at last mayest confess that He alone is
God!'

Last of all, after her sons, the mother died as well.[4]

[Illustration: THE JEWS OF ANTIOCHUS' TIMES COVERED THEIR HOUSES AND
TOMBS WITH HEATHEN GREEK ORNAMENTS THAT THEY MIGHT BE 'IN THE FASHION.'
HERE IS THE CORNICE OF ONE OF THEM, DECORATED IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY
AS THE GREEK IDOL-TEMPLES]

But the saints of God did not die in vain; their victories over pain
and death fired the hearts that had grown so cold, and awakened the
careless into active life. Those who had forsaken the religion of
their fathers returned by hundreds to God, confessing their sins, and
pleading for pardon.

So the very fierceness of the trial proved a blessing, and the days of
torture were followed by a revival of faith in God, and devotion to His
service.

Now there was an old priest named Mattathias who, with his four sons,
had never listened to the cunning temptations of the heathen Greeks.
All his life he had served God with his whole heart, and had brought up
his sons to follow in his steps. When Mattathias and his sons heard
what was being done at Jerusalem, they clothed themselves in sackcloth
and wept, praying, and fasting continually, beseeching God to forgive
His people, and to put away their sins.

In a little while the king's officers came to the heathen altar at
Modin, the town where the old priest lived.

'Sacrifice to Jupiter, our master's god!' they said. 'Sacrifice, as
all Jews shall be forced to do, or die!'

But the old man looked the Greek straight in the face. 'Though all the
nations in the world obey t