ng the hem of his garment. "Who but thou should perform
the ceremony?"

So the throng swept back towards the synagogue with many rejoicings
and songs, and the extinguished torches were relighted, and the music
struck up again, and the bride walked, escorted by her friends,
seemingly unconscious that this was not the same joyous procession
which had set out in the morning, or that she had already stood under
the canopy. But, when they were arrived in the synagogue courtyard,
and the Baal Shem began the ceremony, then as she heard his voice, a
strange light of recollection leapt into her face. She tore off her
veil and cried, "This is the man that drew me out of the cold grave."

"Be silent," reprimanded the Master sternly, and proceeded with the
wedding formulae. At the wedding feast, the bride's friends asked her
what she had seen and heard in the tomb. Whereupon she gave them the
explanation of the whole matter. The former wife of her rich
bridegroom was the bride's aunt, and when she fell ill and knew she
would die, she felt that he would assuredly marry this young girl--his
ward,--who was brought up in his house. She became madly jealous, and,
calling her husband to her death-bed, she made him take an oath not to
marry the girl. Nor would she trust him till he had sworn with his
right hand in hers and his left hand in the girl's. After the wife's
death neither of the parties to this oath kept faith, but wished to
marry the other. Wherefore as they stood under the canopy at the
marriage celebration the dead wife, seen only of the bride, killed
her. While she was lying in the grave, the Baal Shem was occupied in
weighing the matter, both she and the jealous woman having to state
their case; and he decided that the living were in the right, and had
only given their promise to the dead wife by force and out of
compassion. And so he exclaimed, "Get on with the wedding!" The memory
of this trial in the world of spirits had clean passed from her till
she heard the Master's voice beginning to read the marriage service,
when she cried out, and tore off her veil to see him plainly.

The Baal Shem spent the Sabbath in the capital; and on Sunday he was
escorted out of the town with a great multitude doing him honor. And
afterwards it was found that all the sick people, whose names happened
to be scribbled by their relatives on the grave-stone which his robe
had brushed, recovered. Nor could this be entirely owing to the merits