s a great mass of poetry devoted to Joseph; and a lament to
"Mother Desert," uttered as he is being led away into captivity by the
merchants to whom his brethren have sold him, soon becomes the
groundwork for variations in which the Scripture story is entirely
forgotten. In these Joseph is always a "Tzarevitch," or king's son, his
father being sometimes David, sometimes "the Tzar of India," or of "the
Idolaters' Land," or some such country. He is confined in a tower,
because the soothsayers have foretold that he will become a Christian
(or because he is already a Christian he shuts himself up). One day he
is permitted to ride about the town, and although all old people have
been ordered to keep out of sight, he espies one aged cripple, and thus
learns that his father has grossly deceived him, in asserting that no
one ever becomes old or ill in his kingdom. He forthwith becomes a
Christian, and flees to the desert. Then comes his wail to "Mother
Desert Most Fair," as she stands "afar off in the valley": "O Desert
fair, receive me to thy depths, as a mother her own child, and a pastor
his faithful sheep, into thy voiceless quiet, beloved mother mine!"
"Mother Desert" proceeds to remonstrate with her "beloved child": "Who
is to rule," she says, "over thy kingdom, thy palaces of white stone,
thy young bride? When spring cometh, all the lakes will be aflood, all
the trees will be clothed with verdure, heavenly birds will warble
therein with voices angelic: in the desert thou wilt have none of this;
thy food will be fir-bark, thy drink marsh-water." Nevertheless, "Joseph
Tzarevitch" persists in his intention, and Mother Desert receives him at
last. Most versions of this ballad are full of genuine poetry, but a few
are rather ludicrous: for example, "Mother Desert" asks Joseph, "How
canst thou leave thy sweet viands and soft feather-beds to come to me?"

Of David, strange to say, we find very little mention, save in the "Dove
Book," or as the father of Joseph, or of some other equally preposterous
person.

Among the ballads on themes drawn from the New Testament, those relating
to the birth of Christ, and the visit of the Wise Men; to John the
Baptist, and to Lazarus, are the most numerous. The Three Wise Men
sometimes bring queer gifts. One ballad represents them as being
Lithuanians, and only two in number, who bring Christ offerings of
_botvinya_--a savory and popular dish, in the form of a soup served
cold, with ice, and