CHAPTER III.
THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER
It was the first evening of the seven days set apart to celebrate the deliverance of the Jews from their bondage in Egypt and their safe passage to a new home of their own.
Solomon and Esther were dressed in their Sabbath clothes. So were their father and mother. The house was trimmed as though for a wedding.
"Is the table ready?" Esther's mother asked the servant.
"Quite ready. Everything is in its place, I think," was the answer.
The children's father led the way, and the family gathered around the table. There were lettuce and cress, unleavened bread, wine, and a meat bone which was carefully covered with a fine cloth.
Solomon and his father began to chant. They rocked themselves to and fro at the same time. This motion of their bodies was to express as well as possible the words of the psalm, "All my bones shall praise thee."
When the chant was finished, the master of the house cut a slice from a loaf of bread shaped like a crescent.
"These two pieces of bread," he said, solemnly, "are like the shores of the Red Sea. But now, as I join them together again, it seems as though we could see the waves sweeping over Pharaoh's host."