him partake of it, he that is in need let him eat and
be satisfied."

As though in response to the hospitable invitation, there came a soft
rap at the door. Mendel opened it and the bright light revealed a man
and a woman, whose haggard faces and tattered garments presented the
very picture of misery.

"Father! Mother!" Mendel cried, joyfully. "God be praised!" and he threw
himself into the arms of his father.

With a single impulse the entire company arose and welcomed the
unexpected guests. Mordecai and his wife had travelled on foot from
Togarog to Kief, and, after terrible hardships, had arrived in time for
the Passover. Great was the pleasure at their unlooked-for appearance,
and as they hastened to tell the story of their sorrows and wanderings,
sincere was the joy at their providential escape and the safe
termination of their journey. All Israel is one family, and had the
wanderers been in nowise related to Bensef, their reception would have
been equally cordial and sincere.

A short time sufficed to remove the last traces of their terrible
journey and to clothe them in the best that the wardrobe of their hosts
afforded. Two more plates were set, two more goblets of wine were served
and the ceremonies were continued.

So excited was Mendel over the arrival of his parents that he could
scarcely compose himself sufficiently to follow the _seder_ and ask the
conventional question concerning the significance of the _Pesach_
festival. In reply, the head of the house recited from his _Hagada_ how
the Lord punished Pharaoh for his obduracy, how the children of Israel
were eventually led from captivity, how the Red Sea was divided that
the chosen people might traverse its bed while the Egyptian perished
miserably, and how the Lord conducted his people safely through the
wilderness to the promised land. Then followed praise and thanksgiving,
the _Hagadas_ were pushed aside and feasting followed, continuing far
into the night.

The woes and adventures of Mordecai and his wife elicited the hearty
sympathy of their hearers, and the enjoyment of the evening was greatly
enhanced by the knowledge that the dear ones were, for the present at
least, safe from persecution.

The quiet dignity which had distinguished Mendel since he had become a
student vanished. He became a child again, embracing and caressing his
parents, weeping at their sorrows, laughing over their deliverance, and
asking a thousand questions without wai