Egypt Joseph and his family settled in the little town of Nazareth,
where he followed the trade of a carpenter.

[Footnote 13: Matthew, chapter ii. verses 13, 14.]

Now Jesus had a cousin, a boy who was not far from the same age. His
name was John, and his mission in life was closely connected with that
of Jesus. He was to grow up a great preacher, and finally to lead
people to Jesus himself. His parents knew before his birth, from an
angelic visitation, that he was to be a prophet. His mother Elizabeth,
and Mary the mother of Jesus, used to talk together, before their
children were born, of the strange future in store for them. We like
to think that the two boys grew up as companions and playmates.

It is this little boy John who is seen in the back of the picture, at
the right, coming up as if to join the child Jesus in his romp. We see
his eager little face, with the long hair blown back from it, just
above the coping stone surrounding the garden inclosure which the Holy
Family occupy. He carries over his left shoulder a slender reed cross,
such as is given him in all the old works of art as a symbol of his
prophetic character.

[Illustration: THE HOLY FAMILY. _Uffizi Gallery, Florence._]

You may say when you look at the picture that this is such a group
as you might see any day in some Tuscan village. The people are indeed
very plainly of the peasant class, and the artist did not go far out
of his way to find his figures. Perhaps he thought this was after all
the best way to show that the Holy Family was not unlike other
families in enjoying the simple pleasures of home life. We may feel a