een born soon enough. Ruth, Esther,
Hagar, they all had suffered, they had all most likely looked off onto
the desert, even as I wuz lookin' for help, and it didn't come to some
on 'em. And by this time to add to my sufferin's, the mantilly of
night was descendin' over the seen, the tropical night that comes so
swift, so fast, oh, what should I do? Every move I made, every
despairin' jester only seemed to make 'em go faster, so it wuz plain
to be seen that my help wuz not in man. I thought of that pillar of
fire that had lighted that sad procession of Hebrews acrost that very
desert. And, like a cool, firm hand, laid on a feverish, restless
foretop, come agin the thought of them three wise men that had trod
that desert waste. No path, no guide to lead 'em, only the Star, and I
sez in my inmost heart:

"That Star hain't lost its light; it remains jest as bright and clear
to-day as it did then to light true believers acrost the darkness in
the hour of their need." And jest as plain as though they wuz spoke to
me come these beautiful words: "I will lift up mine eyes to the hills
from whence cometh my help."

And I lifted my streamin' eyes accordin', for by this time I wuz
cryin' and sheddin' tears. I could see by the faint light in the west
that there wuz considerable of a hill on the east of me, and as my
weepin' eyes wuz lifted in that direction my heart almost stood still
as I beheld all of a sudden a glowin' star of light shine out of the
darkness right on the top of that hill and rapidly desend in my
direction nearer and nearer.

Oh, joy! oh, bliss! it wuz my own pardner with a lantern. His devoted
love had bore him back. Settin' on a donkey bearin' a lantern, he
looked to me like an angel. It wuz the star of love, indeed it wuz!
the brightest star of earth come to light my dark pathway. And I bust
out:

"Oh, Josiah Allen! you are not one of the wise men, but you look
better to me than any of 'em could."

And he sez, "It don't look very pretty for you, after hangin' out till
this time o' night, to run the one who has come way back after you
with a lantern, and talk about his not knowin' anything."

"Run you, Josiah," sez I, "you look more beautiful to me than words
can tell."

That mollified him and he sez with a modest smile, "I spoze I am very
pretty lookin', but I worried about you a sight."

It seems that they had went on a pretty good jog, and seein' my
bearers had got belated with me they had took a s