Into this a little
straw had been thrown, and over it a purple robe had been cast,
whereon the infant lay. A lamp, set upon a projection of the wall of
the cave, burned brightly near. The great eyes of the wonderful child
were wandering about the room; his hand touched his mother's lips. I
waited to hear him open his mouth and speak.
"There was a moment of silence after we entered the cave. My father
broke it with his salutation:
"'Hail, thou blessed among women!' he cried. 'This child of thine is a
Prince and a Savior.'
"And then we all bowed low upon our faces before him and worshipped
him with praise and gladness.
"The two aged women, with whom we had spoken, had followed us to the
door of the stable, and, seeing us worshipping there, had run to call
others who were awake in the inn, so that when we arose quite a
company were standing at the door, or just within, gazing upon the
King in his beauty and listening to our thanksgiving with great
wonder.
"Then my father told them all the things that we had heard and
seen--the message of the angel, the song in the air, the glory of the
Lord that had appeared to us--and how we had quickly come to
Bethlehem, and had found things as the angel had told us. 'And it is
even,' he cried, 'as the prophet himself hath spoken: "Thou Bethlehem
Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out
of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel,
whose going forth hast been of old; even from everlasting.
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