he road, which he liked to hack at a little
if they were good timber. The nearer they approached the capital the
more animated the stony roads became. Pilgrims who were proceeding to
the great festival in the holy place streamed along the paths. After
sunset on the second day our travellers found themselves at an inn in
Jerusalem. Joseph could afford to be more independent than he had been
twelve years back--he had money in his pocket! Their first walk was to
the Temple. They hastened their steps when passing Herod's palace.

The Temple stood in wondrous splendour. All sorts of people filled the
forecourt, hurrying, pushing, and shouting, pressing forward through
the lines of pillars into the Holy Place, and thence into the Holy of
Holies, where the ark of the covenant stood, flanked by golden
candelabra. Every fifth man wore the robes of a rabbi, and was thus
sure of his place in the Temple as one learned in the law. Pharisees
and Sadducees, two hostile parties in the interpretation of the law,
talked together of tithes and tribute, or entered on lively disputes
over the laws of the Scriptures, a subject on which they never agreed.
Joseph and Mary did not observe that others were quarrelling; they
humbly obeyed the rules, and stood in a niche of the Holy Place and
prayed. But Jesus stood by the pillars and listened to the disputants
with astonishment.

The next day they inspected the city as far as the crowds rendered it
possible. Joseph wished to visit the grave of his noble ancestor, and
pushed through the crowds that filled the dark, narrow streets, noisy
with buyers and sellers, donkey-drivers, porters, shouting rabbis, and
an endless stream of pilgrims. When they reached David's tomb Jesus
was not with them. Joseph thought that he had remained behind in the
crowd, and, feeling quite easy about him, paid his devotions at the
tomb of his royal ancestor. When they returned to the inn, where they
thought to find Jesus, He was not there; time passed, and He did not
come. Someone said He had joined a party of pilgrims going to Galilee,
because He thought that His parents had already set out. "How could He
think that?" exclaimed Joseph. "As if we should go without Him!"

They hurried off to fetch their son, but when they came up with the
pilgrims, Jesus was not there, nothing was known of him, and his
parents returned to the town. They sought him there for two whole
days. They visited every quarter o