“Shall I go on, mother?”

“Go on.”

“He to whom the Lord shall show a sign, let him be husband of Mary,” read Miriamne.

“Ah, the Lord would not trust the youths to draw! He knows that a man is like to harass the life out of one woman before he learns to care for another rightly. God was good to Mary in hedging her in to a widower if needs be that she must marry.”

Rizpah did not sway back and forth now; she sat erect and laughed bitterly.

By Raphael.

THE MARRIAGE OF MARY AND JOSEPH.

Miriamne continued: