e.

CHAPTER IV

He at whom Herod had struck was not among the slaughtered innocents.
For Mary had no desire to show her babe to the king.

They kept in hiding with their great treasure. They remained in hiding
a long time. The rite of circumcision made the boy a member of the
nation which God had named His chosen people. The child's ancestors
reached back to Abraham, to whom the promise was made. And if
according to Holy Writ I trace his descent from the race of Abraham,
branch by branch, it comes at last to Joseph, Mary's husband. And it
is here that the glad tidings turn us aside with firm hand from all
earthly existence--to the Spirit through which Mary had borne Him, Him
whom with holy awe we call Jesus.

Now it came to pass one night that Joseph awoke from his sleep: "Arise,
Joseph, wake them, and flee!" The voice called to him clearly and
distinctly: twice, thrice.

"Flee? before whom? The shepherds protect us," Joseph ventured to say.

"The king will have the child. Make your preparations quickly and
flee."

Joseph looked at his wife and child. Their faces were white in the
moonlight. To think that such as they had an enemy on the earth!
Flee! But whither? Where could the king not reach them? His arm
extended throughout the whole of Judaea. We must not dream of going to
Nazareth; he would be sure to seek us there. Shall we go towards the
land where the sun rises? There dwell wild men of the desert. Or
towards the setting sun? There are the boundless waters, and we have
no boat in which to sail thither, where the heathens live who have
kinder hearts than the grim princes of Israel.

"Wake them!" called the voice clearly and urgingly. "Take them to the
land of the Pharaohs."

"To Egypt, where our forefathers were slaves, and were only delivered
with difficulty?" asked Joseph.

"Joseph, delay not. Go to the people whose faith is folly, but whose
will is just, yonder where the waters of the Nile make the land fertile
and bless it; There you will find peace and livelihood, safety for your
wife, and teaching for the child. When the time comes, God will lead
you back as once He led Moses and Joshua across the sea."

Joseph knew not whose voice it was; he did not seek to know, and
doubted not his soul rested trustfully in the arms of the Lord. He put
his hand on the shoulders of his dearest one, and said softly: "Mary,
awake, and be not afraid. Gather together our few possession