At this point of the narrative of the cousin of Mary, dear father, I will close this letter. In my next I will resume his narrative, for when I have given it to you wholly, I have many things to ask you to which it gives rise in my mind. May the blessing of the God of Israel be upon thee, my dearest father!
Adina.
[LETTER IV.]
My Dear Father:
I have had the pleasure to-day, not only of hearing from you, but of being assured of your continued welfare. The messages of parental affection contained in your letter are cherished in my heart.
You need not fear, my dear father, that I shall be carried away from the faith of Israel by any strange doctrines. I will take counsel by your wisdom, and be cautious how I venture in my inquiries upon sacred ground.
In my last letter I commenced giving you the narrative of John, with which I shall now proceed.
"Having passed out of the city of Jericho, my friend of Arimathea and myself crossed the plain toward Jordan. The morning was balmy; the sun made all nature glad. The dew reflected a myriad lesser suns, and the earth appeared strewn with diamonds. For a little way the road lay between fields of corn and gardens, but soon it crossed the open plain, on which were droves of wild asses, which lifted their small, spirited heads on our approach, eyed us with timid curiosity, and then bounded off to the wilderness southward with the speed of antelopes. As the great body of the people took their way obliquely across the plain, we knew the prophet must be in that direction. We at length found him on the banks of Jordan, below the landing and ford, which is opposite Jericho, on the great caravan road to Balbec.
"We drew near a dark mass of human beings which we had beheld afar off, assembled around a small eminence near the river. Upon it, raised a few cubits taller than their heads, stood a man upon whom all eyes were fixed, and to whose words every ear was attentive. His clear, rich, earnest tones had reached us as we approached, before we could distinguish what he said. He was a young man not above thirty, with a countenance such as the medallions of Egypt give to Joseph of our nation, once their prince. His hair was long, and wildly free about his neck; he wore a loose sack of camel's hair, and his right arm was naked to the shoulder. His attitude was as free and commanding as that of a Caucasian warrior, yet every gesture was gentle and graceful. With all his ringing and persuasive eloquence there was an air of the deepest humility upon his countenance, combined with an expression of the holiest enthusiasm. His theme was the Messiah.