wo
sons,--Alexander and Aristobulus, when they were grown up, and had wives
and children dependent upon them, he ordered to be strangled in prison,
the chief crime of all these being, that they were justly esteemed and
beloved by the Jews.

No wonder that his subjects liked him not, and that he sat uneasily upon
his throne! No wonder that when the Wise Men came from the east to
Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born king of the Jews?" he
trembled, for he knew well that should another aspirant to the crown
appear, the Jews would only be too ready to take his part.

Insecure as he felt himself to be, he determined on finding out who this
new king was, and taking immediate steps for ridding himself of him. So
under pretence of desiring to do honour to the young child, he directed
the Wise Men to make diligent search for the infant king, and then tell
him where He was; that he also might go and worship Him. But in his
heart he was anxious to know where the Baby-king was only that he might
send some secret assassin to take His life. He had done darker and more
difficult deeds than that, and had put safely out of his path far more
formidable enemies than a helpless babe. The Wise Men would soon come
back, as they had promised, and then in less than a day the dreaded
Child would have ceased to live, he would be able to breathe freely
again, and unpopular as he was, he would still retain his crown.

But the Magi did not return. Overwhelmed with joy at having at last
found the wondrous Babe, to which the strange star had guided them, they
lay down to rest, intending, in the early morning, to set out again for
Jerusalem. But the great Father above, who knew all the dark secrets of
Herod's heart, warned them in a dream not to go back to him; and they
returned to their own country by another way.

Herod waited and watched in his palace for the return of the Magi; and
his secret executioner was at hand, ready to set out for Bethlehem at
any moment. And when he found that they had discovered his hypocrisy and
wicked intentions, and that his infamous design was thwarted, his rage
knew no bounds; and he vowed to himself that the Child-King should not
escape him, and that he would be fully avenged.

From the information received from the Wise Men, he concluded that it
was within two years that the mysterious guiding star had first
appeared. And a dark and terrible thought came into his wicked heart. If
he could not tell which