city-the symbol of the unquenchable flames of the Pit. It was in this valley that children had been burned alive to Moloch in the old idolatrous times, and the remembrance of this, with the foulness of the part where the perpetual fires now burned, had made Gehennathe name of the valley-the word used afterwards even by Jesus Himself, for the place of the lost.

Between Hinnom and Kidron, where the two valleys met at the south-east of the city, His eyes, looking down from the Temple Mount, would rest on the contrasted sweetness of the softly-flowing waters of Siloam, which bubbled up noiselessly at the foot of the hill, and after filling a double pool, glided on to the south, till they lost themselves in the king's gardens.

City and people: the past and the present, must have filled the whole being of the Child with awe and wonder, for He now stood, for the first time, under the shadow of His Father's Temple, and the murmur of countless languages that filled the air, was, in very truth, homage to that Father from all the world.

CHAPTER XV.

THE PASSOVER VISIT TO JERUSALEM.

THE vast multitudes coming to the Passover arranged to reach Jerusalem, at the latest, on the 14th of Nisan, the day on the evening of which the feast was celebrated. In the city, however, there had been a great stir for some days already, in anticipation of the solemnity. So far back as from the 15th of the preceding month, all the bridges and roads, far and near, had been begun to be repaired. All graves near the lines of travel, or round Jerusalem, had been either fenced in, or the head-stones had been whitewashed, that they might be seen from a distance, and thus warn off the pilgrims, whom they might otherwise have defiled, and made unfit for the feast. The fields, throughout the whole country, had been anxiously gone over, to see if they were unclean by any plants growing together in them, which the Law forbade being allowed to do so. On the Sabbath immediately preceding the 14th-the Great Sabbath-special services had been held in all the synagogues and in the Temple itself, and the Rabbis had discoursed to the people on the laws and meaning of the festival. The lambs, or he goats, had been selected, in earlier times, on the 10th, from the vast flocks driven to the city at this season, to supply the Passover demand. But this was impossible now, as the pilgrims arrived, mostly, after that day. Only male lambs, or he goats, of a year old, and without blemish, could be used, and they were selected with the most scrupulous care by the head of each company of relatives or neighbours, who proposed to eat the feast together. The fourteenth day, which began at sunset of the 18th, was also the

first day of the feast of "Unleavened Bread," and was hence known

house.

as the " preparation day." No particle of leaven could be left in any The head of each family, as the evening closed, began the household purification with the prayer-"Blessed art Theu, Ŏ Lord, our God, King of the universe, who hast sanctified us with Thy commandments, and requirest us to remove the leaven," and then procecded, in rigorous silence, to search every room, gathering every crumb that could be found, and finally tying all up till the following morning. A further search, which must end before noon, was then made for any liquid or solid product of fermented grain, and for all dishes or vessels that had held it. All were taken out of the house, and the crumbs and dough carefully burned, with a repetition of prescribed prayers. The house itself was then cleansed in every part, and no one could enter the unpurified house of a heathen, henceforth, during the feast, without being defiled. Nothing leavened could be eaten or permitted in the house during the next seven days,-for defilement, bringing with it unfitness to eat the Passover, would follow in either case.

This purification of the house, however, was by no means all. Vessels of any kind, to be used at the feast, were cleansed with prescribed rites, in a settled mode. Metal dishes, &c., after being scoured, must be first dipped in boiling water-in a pot used for no other purpose and then into cold. Iron vessels must be made red-hot; then washed in the same way. Iron mortars, for crushing grain for baking, were filled with red coals, till a thread, tied outside, was burned through. Wooden vessels, after being wetted, were rubbed with a red-hot stone. No clay dish could be used at all if not quite new, and it had to be first dipped thrice in running water, and consecrated by a special prayer. Personal purity was as strictly enforced. Every one had to cut his hair and nails, and to take a bath.

The baking of the unleavened bread was accompanied with equally formal care. On the evening of the 13th, "before the stars appeared," the head of cach household went out and drew water for the purpose, uttering the words as he did so, "This is the water for the unleavened bread," and covering the vessel that contained it, for fear cf any defilement. In grinding the flour, the most anxious care was observed to keep all leaven from coming near the woman at the mill, and to take no grain that was at all damp, lest it might have begun to ferment. After baking, one loaf, to be taken to the priest at the Temple, was laid aside, with another prescribed prayer.

The afternoon of the 14th was a time of the intensest bustle, for the ram's horn trumpets would presently announce, from the Temple, the Leginning of the feast. At the sound, every one took his lamb to the Temple, the court walls of which were gaily hung with many-coloured carpets and tapestries, in honour of the day. The countless victims must be first examined by the priests, to see if they were without blemish, then slaughtered and prepared for roasting, in the forecourts

of the Temple, by the heads of the different households, or by men deputed by them, or by the Levites in attendance, with indescribable haste and confusion, for there was more than work enough for all, to kill, almost at the same time, the 256,000 lambs sometimes required. The exact time for killing the victims was "between the evenings," from sunset of the 14th till the stars appeared, though they might be killed in the three last hours of the day.

As soon as the courts were full, the gates were shut on the multitude within, each holding his lamb. Three blasts of trumpets then announced the beginning of the heavy task. Long rows of priests, with gold and silver bowls, stood ranged between the altar and the victims, to catch the blood, and pass it on from one to the other, till the last poured it on the altar, from which it ran off, through pipes beneath. When the lamb had been drained of blood, the head of the family to which it belonged took it to the hooks on the walls and pillars round, where it was opened and skinned. The tail, which, in the sheep of Palestine, often weighs many pounds, and the fat, were handed to the nearest priest, and passed on till they reached the altar, to be burned as an offering to God. The lamb was killed without the usual laying of the hands on its head. It was now ready to be carried away, and was borne off by the family head in its skin, which was afterwards to be given to the host in whose house the feast might be held.

Not fewer than ten, but as many as twenty, might sit down at a company. Women were allowed to join their households, though it was not required that they should cat the Passover; and lads from fourteen, and even slaves and foreigners, if circumcised, sat down with the rest. Everything was hurried, for the lambs were required to be killed, roasted, and eaten, between three in the afternoon and nine or twelve at night. They were, properly, to be eaten in the courts of the Temple, but this, after a time, having become impossible, they might be eaten anywhere within the Rabbinical limits of the city. Thousands of fires, in special ovens, prepared them; for they must be roasted only, not boiled, or cooked except in this way. It was trussed with spits of pomegranate wood, inserted in the form of a cross, and the whole creature roasted entire. None of the flesh was allowed to remain till morning, any fragments left being forthwith burned, that they might not be defiled. The very dress and attitude of all who took part had been originally prescribed, but these details were now out of use.

The feast itself must have impressed a child like Jesus no less than the preparations. Not a bone of the lamb must be broken, under a penalty of forty stripes, nor must any part of it touch the oven; and if any fat dropped back on it, the part on which it dropped was cut off. The company having assembled, after the lamps were lighted, arranged themselves in due order, on couches, round the tables, reclining on their left side. A cup of red wine, mixed with water, was filled for every one, and drunk, after a touching benediction, by the

head man of the group. A basin of water and a towel were then brought in, that each might wash his hands, and then another blessing was pronounced.

A table was then carried into the open space between the couches, and bitter herbs, and unleavened bread, with a dish-made of dates, raisins, and other fruits, mixed with vinegar to the consistency of lime, in commemoration of the mortar with which their fathers worked in Egypt, set on it, along with the paschal lamb. The head man then took some of the bitter herbs, dipped them in the dish, and, after giving thanks to God for creating the fruits of the earth, ate a small piece, and gave one to each of the company. A second cup of wine and water was then poured out, and the son of the house, or the youngest boy present, asked the meaning of the feast. The questions to be put had been minutely fixed by the Rabbis, and were as formally and minutely answered in appointed words, the whole story of the deliverance from Egypt being thus repeated, year after year, at every Passover table, in the very same terms, throughout all Israel.

The first part of the great Hallelujah-Psalms cxiii. and cxiv.—was now chanted, and was followed by a prayer, beginning, "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast redeemed us and our forefathers from Egypt." A third cup was now poured out, and then came the grace after meals. A fourth and last cup followed, and then Psalms cxv., cxvi., cxvii., and exviii., which formed the rest of the Hallelujah, and another prayer, closed the feast.

At midnight the gates of the Temple were once more opened, and the people, who seldom slept that night, poured through them, in their holiday dress, with thank-offerings, in obedience to the command that none should appear before the Lord empty. Of these gifts the priests took their rightful share, and gave back the rest to the officers, who had it cooked for them in the Court of the Women, and sat down to a second feast in the Temple cloisters, or in some part of the town, within the limits of which alone it was lawful to eat such food.

The whole week was full of interest. The 15th was kept like a Sabbath. It was one of the six days of the year on which the Law prohibited all servile work. Only what was necessary for daily life might be done. It was a day for rest, and for the presentation of freewill offerings in the Temple.

It was on the third day that the first-fruits of the harvest were brought from the Kidron valley to the Temple, to be waved before God in solemn acknowledgment of His bounty in giving the kindly fruits of the earth. This incident Jesus, doubtless, saw. He would notice, besides, how the sheaf had no sooner been offered than the streets were filled with sellers of bread made of new barley, parched ears of the young crop, and early growths and fruits of all kinds, which had been kept back till then.

From the 17th to the 20th the days were only half holy, and many

of the people had already begun to leave Jerusalem. Crowds still remained, however, to enjoy the great holiday time of the year, and the days and even the nights, with their bright moon, went merrily by.

The last day, the 21st, like the first, was kept as a Sabbath. Only necessary work was permitted, and it closed with a rehearsal of the Passover supper, for the sake of those who could not come up on the first great day of the feast.

But amidst all the sights and wonders of the week one specially interested Jesus. His heart was already set supremely on "His Father's house," the Temple. Can we doubt that, with the early habits of the East, He found time to watch its daily service through

out?

This began, in reality, the night before. The priests required for the services of the next day, or to watch through the night, assembled in the evening in the great Fire Chamber. The keys of the Temple, and of the inner forecourts, were then handed them by their brethren whom they relieved, and hidden below the marble floor. The Levites on watch through the night, or to serve next day, also received the keys of the outer forecourts from their brethren whose duties were over. Besides these, twenty-four representatives of the people, on duty,-men delegated by the nation to represent it, at the daily sacrifices, were also present.

As the morning service began very early, everything was put in train beforehand. Ninety-three vessels and instruments needed for it were received from the retiring Levites, and carried to a silver table on the south of the Great Altar, to be ready. The gates of the Temple building itself, and of the inner forecourts, were locked up for the night, the key once more put in its place, the priest who had charge of it kissing the marble slab as he replaced it, and lying down to sleep over it through the night. The gates of the outer forecourts were now also shut, and the watches of priests and Levites set for the night. But the Temple was too sacred to be entrusted to them alone; the Representatives slept in it on behalf of the people; and some ecclesiastical dignitaries, deputed by the authorities, and one of the higher priests, who was to preside over the lots for daily offices next morning.

Towards dawn, the captain of the watch and some priests rose, took the keys, and passing into the inner forecourt, preceded by torchbearers, divided into two bands, which went round the Temple courts, to see that all was safe, and every vessel in its right place.

Meanwhile, the other priests had risen, bathed, and put on their white robes. The duties of each for the day were fixed by lot each morning, to prevent the unseemly quarrels, resulting even in bloodshed, which had formerly risen. Assembling in a special chamber, all stood in a circle, and the lot was taken by counting a given number from any part of the ring, the choice remaining with him whose place made up the figure. Meanwhile, the Levites and Representa