y square and flat roofed. As we drew nigh we see the tall minaret
of a mosque, the great convent buildings and the neat houses of the
village looking out of gardens of figs and olives with white doves
playing about the roofs; there wuz great hedges of prickly pears and
white orange blossoms and scarlet pomgranites to make it pleasant.

On the road we wuz travelin' the child Jesus no doubt often passed in
play with other children or at work. I wonder how he felt as he stood
amongst his playmates and if a shadow of what wuz to come rested on
his young heart? I spoze so, for he wuz only twelve when he reasoned
with the wise doctors.

There is one fountain that supplies the town and always has, and we
see stately dark-eyed wimmen carryin' tall jars of water on their
heads (how under the sun they ever do it is a mystery to me; I should
spill every drop), but they seem to carry 'em easy enough. Children
often ran along at their sides. And I knew that in this place the
young child Jesus must often have come with his mother after water.

Stood right here where we stood! what emotions I had as I thought
on't. Dorothy and Robert looked reverently about them and dipped their
hands in the clear water just as Joseph and Mary might when they wuz
young and couldn't look into the futer.

Miss Meechim said she had a tract to home that dealt on this spot and
wished she had brought it, she would have liked to read it here on the
spot.

Arvilly said she wuz glad enough to see that they had plenty of good,
pure water here and didn't have to depend on anything stronger.

And Josiah said in his opinion the water would make crackin' good
coffee, and he wished he had a good cup and a dozen or so of my
nut-cakes.

CHAPTER XXV

We visited a carpenter shop which wuz, I spoze, about like the shop of
Joseph, lots of different tools on shelves and nails on the side on't,
some like Jonesville shops.

But carpenter there has a different meaning from what it has in
Jonesville, it means different kinds of work, carving, making
furniture, plows, shovels, as well as buildin' houses. In some such a
shop as this our Lord worked with achin' back and blistered hands no
doubt, for He worked faithful and stiddy when He wuz subject to his
father, Joseph. I suppose his dress wuz much like other Jewish
peasantry save in one thing he wore, and this wuz the seamless
garment, suggestive, I spoze, of wholeness, holiness. As I thought
on't I instinct