ethren for the breaking of bread. As he was thinking of these things,
one of the brethren laid hands on the bridle and asked him whom he might
be wishing to see; to which question Joseph answered: the Head. The
brother replied: so be it; and tethered the mule to a post at the corner
of the central hut, begging Joseph to enter and seat himself on one of
the benches, of which there were many, and a table long enough to seat
some fifty or sixty.

He recognised the place he was in as the refectory, where the rite of
the breaking of bread was accomplished. To-morrow I shall witness it, he
said, and felt like dancing and singing in his childish eagerness. But
the severity of the hall soon quieted his mood, and he remembered he
must collect his thoughts and prepare his story for recital, for he
would be asked to give an account of himself. As he was preparing his
story, the president entered: a tall man of bulk, with the pallor of age
in his face and in the hand that lifted the black taffeta cap from his
head. The courteousness of the greeting did more than to put Joseph at
his ease, as the saying is. In a few moments he was confiding himself to
this man of kindly dignity, whose voice was low, who seemed to speak
always from the heart, and it was wholly delightful to tell the great
Essene that he was come from Galilee to attend the Feast of the Passover
in his father's place, and that after having allied himself in turn to
the Sadducees and the Pharisees he came to hear of the Essenes: I have
come thither, hoping to find the truth here. You have truthful eyes,
said the president; and, thus encouraged, Joseph told that there were
some in the Temple, the poor who worship God daily with a whole heart.
It was from them, he said, that I heard of your doctrines. Of which you
can have obtained only the merest outline, the president answered; and
perhaps when you know us better our rule may seem too hard for you to
follow, or it may be that you will feel that you are called to worship
God differently from us. But it matters naught how we worship, if our
worship come from the heart.

The word "heart" startled Joseph out of himself, and his eyes falling at
that moment on the Essene he was moved to these words: Father, I could
never disobey thee. Let me stay, put me to the tests. But the tests are
long, the president answered; we would not suffer you to return to
Jericho to-night, even if you wished it. Your mule is tired and would be
s