and seemed not to be moving at all. The oblique rays of the setting
sun, reflected and radiating in every direction, lent a peculiar
glitter to the slushy wagons and the broken sheet of mire, as if
pointing out their beauty to the darkening sky. So much light
wasted, I thought. But on the summit of the hill on which I was
standing, the direct rays of the sun promised a good hour more of
daylight.

The old man drew breath, and continued his story:--



Well, I was caught, and put into prison. I was not alone. Many
young boys had been brought there. Some were crying bitterly; some
looked at their companions wonderingly. We were told that the next
day we should be taken away to some place, and that the rabbi wished
to come to see us, but was not permitted to enter our prison.

Yes, a good man was the rabbi, may he rest in peace; yet he was
compelled to cheat for once. And when an honest man is compelled to
cheat he may outdo the cleverest crook. Do you want to know what
the rabbi did? He disguised himself as a peasant, went out, and
walked the streets with the rolling gait of a drunkard. The night
guards stopped him, and asked him what his business was. "I am a
thief," said the rabbi. Then the guards arrested him, and put him
into the prison with us.

In the darkness of that night the rabbi never ceased talking to us,
swallowing his own tears all the while. He told us the story of
Joseph the righteous. It had been decreed in Heaven, said the